HOUSE 


LANDELL 


GERTRUDE  CAPEN  WHITNEY 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

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The  House  of  Landell 

OR 

Follow  and  Find 


BY 

GERTRUDE  CAPEN  WHITNEY 

(MRS.  GEORGE  ERASTUS  WHITNEY) 

Author  of  "Yet  Speaketh  He,"  "Roses  from  my  Garden,"  "Above  the 
Shame  of  Circumstance"  "I  Choose" 


R.  F.  FENNO  &  COMPANY 

18  East  17th  Street,  New  York 


COPYRIGHT,  1917, 

By  R.  F.  FENNO  &  COMPANY 


The  House  of  Landell 


CHAPTER  I. 
Life  is  a  constant  readjustment. 

THE  sound  of  two  sharp  whistles  pursued  Agnes 
Landell  down  the  quiet  country  road ;  then  came  quick 
footsteps,  and  Tom  Landell  swung  naturally  into  the 
rhythm  of  his  sister's  pace. 

"  Here  is  a  lark,"  he  exclaimed,  "  with  a  song  of 
far-reaching  mystery   warbling  between   its  wings," 
and  he  fluttered  the  covers  of  a  book  he  held. 
CM        "  You  enthusiastic  goose !  "     Curiously,  Agnes  eyed 
§  the  little  volume,  while,  with  the  ease  of  an  accom 
plished  pedestrian,  she  walked  beside  him. 

"  Goose  me  not !     Enthusiasm  is  a  law  of  nature, 

g   kin  to  that  of  self-preservation.     Besides, — '  thereby 

x    hangs  a  tale.'     This  flew  to  my  hand  to-day,  by  mis- 

3    take,  on  the  wings  of  an  order  to  a  New  York  anti- 

quary." 

Agnes  scanned  the  title. 

"  Lark !     Call  it,  rather,  a  little  brown  sparrow,  to 
<    be  found  by  the  score.    There  are  at  least  three  in  the 
garret." 

"  Its  feathers, — rather,  its  board  backs,  do  not  be 
tray  its  secret,  neither  does  its  name,  Genung's  Rhet 
oric.  Oh,  let  me  fly  down  from  my  perch  of  hyperbole 
and  descend  to  facts." 

With  exaggerated  care  he  turned  the  pages,  dis 
closing  a  spray  of  pressed  flowers. 

9 

443353 


IO  The  House  of  Landell 

"  Not  that  it's  so  wonderful,"  touching  it  delicately, 
"  but  don't  you  suppose  this  is  the  name  of  the  girl 
who  did  it?" 

He  read  aloud,  "  Mattee  Sue  Romaine,  Colonial 
Street,  Gustaga,  Georgia.  Jupiter,  Agnes,  I'll  write 
her!" 

"  It's  the  yellow  jessamine,"  exclaimed  Agnes.  "  Of 
course,  I  should  write !  " 

"  Think  she'll  answer  the  letter?  " 

"  Possibly, — or  laugh,  -and  put  it  on  the  altar  of  her 
dreams, — mayhap  the  fire !  " 

"  You  believe  no  such  thing !  Anyway,  I  shall  ven 
ture!" 

"  It  is  an  old  book.  By  this  time,  Mattee  Sue  Ro 
maine  may  be  a  crochetty— 

"  I  refuse  to  believe  it.  Its  owner  never  could  lose 
her  fascination,  but  would  attain  to  more  as  years  drop 
treasures  into  her  dainty  palm.  We  do  not  receive  our 
names  haphazard.  We  accrete  them,  so  to  speak.  I 
know  she  is  a  lovely  girl  with  bronze  hair  and  sea- 
green  eyes, — clever,  too,  these  margins  testify.  I 
love  people  who  dog-ear  and  pencil  their  books.  They 
dare  to  be  Daniels !  "  and  he  read  aloud  aphorisms,  skip 
ping  from  page  to  page. 

"  They  sound  as  if  begun  by  one  person  and  con 
tinued  by  another.  Is  the  writing  the  same?  " 

"  I  can't  quite  tell.  There  is  a  peculiar  dash  once  in 
a  while,  as  if  some  one  else  had  caught  up  the  thought, 
or  it  may  be  a  composite  of  individual  progression,  not 
fully  mulsified — to  speak  as  if  life  were  mayon 
naise." 

"  Beware  of  adoring  a  composite  mentality  as  you 
did  a  composite  photograph  a  while  ago,  when  you  de 
clared  no  one  woman  could  be  so  beautiful  as  the  me 
chanical  adjustment,  by  the  photographer,  of  the  se 
lected  charms  of  many  women." 


The  House  of  Landell  n 

"  I've  grown  since  then !  Jupiter,  won't  you  give 
me  credit  for  a  legitimate  change  of  mind?  " 

"  Indeed  yes.  She  is  practical  as  well  as  piquant. 
Read  this  parody."  The  brother  and  sister,  heads  to 
gether,  scanned  the  pages. 

"  After  I  have  written  I  shall  read  every  one.  Now, 
having  planned,  prepare  to  execute!  "  and  Tom  strode 
off. 

"  Tom  is  always  having  such  interesting,  worth 
while  experiences,"  Agnes  mused,  as  she  strolled  on. 
"  Oh,  if  I  live  a  thousand  years  and  see  a  thousand 
climes,  I  shall  never  cease  to  love  this  wonderful  spot 
with  its  ever  varying  panorama  and  woodland  in 
cense  !  " 

With  sudden  swerve  to  the  trend  of  her  thought,  she 
paused  to  watch  the  scene,  her  radiant  face  reflecting 
the  life  and  beauty  about  her.  She  seemed  a  forest 
spirit,  as,  with  head  uplifted,  listening  to  histories  of 
the  past,  the  present  and  the  future,  with  rapt  intent- 
ness  seeing  visions  separating  her  from  human  kind, 
her  soul  seemed  to  reach  out  to  and  become  a  part  of 
every  tree  and  cloud  and  cap  of  wave  throbbing  with 
life  about  her.  Between  the  foliage,  along  the  road 
side,  flashing  like  a  mass  of  silver,  the  water  lay, 
alternately  lifted  and  let  fall  in  showers  of  many 
pointed  stars.  These  twinkled  and  scintillated  on  the 
crescent  waves,  and  golden  sunbeams  sparkled  down 
to  touch  the  diamond  tips,  only  to  be  caught  and  held. 
The  aerial  pathway  from  the  water  to  the  horizon  in 
the  west  seemed  one  radiant  loom.  Threads  of  sun 
light  rayed  and  sprayed  from  their  spinning-wheel  of 
gold,  to  meet  in  warp  and  woof  of  the  garment  they 
were  weaving  for  the  watcher,  as  nature  draped  it 
softly  over  her.  Tossing  its  shuttle  to  and  fro,  the 
luminous  atmosphere  wove  delicate  veils  of  mist,  trail 
ing  these  lightly  over  the  sombre,  rugged  hills  beyond. 


12  The  House  of  Landell 

"  Heigh-o,  Heigh-o !  "  came  in  excited  screams  from 
the  hill  behind  her,  on  the  top  of  which  stood  the 
Beneby  House.  "  Get  out  of  the  way!  Get  out  of  the 
way!" 

Agnes  turned  hastily,  to  see  a  big  touring  car  speed 
ing  zigzag  down  the  hill,  its  wavering  course  laying 
claim  to  the  whole  roadway.  With  a  leap  she  landed 
in  the  water,  and  stood,  somewhat  startled,  at  the 
danger  she  had  escaped,  of  being  knocked  down  by 
the  reckless  driver,  who  unconcernedly  brought  the 
car  to  a  standstill. 

"  Grace  Herrick!  What  are  you  doing!  "  Merrily 
she  clambered  up  the  bank,  shaking  the  water  from 
her  skirts. 

"  It  won't  hurt  you  a  bit.  You  are  all  in  tub  clothes 
and  need  variety.  Blame  Ross  Mevin !  I  asked  him  to 
steer  this  new  car  of  mine  down  hill,  but  he  was  too 
busy  hurrying  to  catch  up  with  you.  Here  he  comes 
now  with  Mrs.  Lavelle.  Heigh-o,  Mr.  Mevin,  I'll  go 
into  the  town,  next,  to  show  the  natives  what  summer 
tourists  are  good  for.  They  are  far  better  educators 
than  universities.  A  crazy  tourist  at  the  wheel  of  a 
motor  car  can  make  a  countryman  run  faster  than  a 
college  football  coach  and  a  horse  dance  far  better 
than  a  fancy  trainer.  Good-bye.  I'm  glad  I  wet  you 
all  up,  Agnes,  it'll  give  you  a  change  of  clothes  and 
of, — oh,  everything  in  general." 

Grace  moved  off  down  the  street,  laughing,  while 
Agnes  waited  for  Mrs.  Lavelle  and  Mr.  Mevin. 

"  We  are  on  the  way  to  your  house,"  said  Mrs. 
Lavelle,  as  the  three  greeted  and  walked  on  down  the 
pleasant  lake  road,  leaving  behind  them  Pine  Hill, 
where,  embowered  in  evergreens,  stood  the  hotel  from 
which  Grace  Herrick  had  motored  and  Mrs.  Lavelle 
and  Mr.  Mevin  started  on  their  walk  to  the  Landells'. 


The  House  of  Landell  13 

The  house  was  not  far  from  the  lake  and,  from  an 
eminence,  overlooked  it  in  all  its  scenic  charm. 

"  Grace  always  leaves  a  whirlwind  behind  her,  men 
tally  and  physically,"  laughed  Mrs.  Lavelle.  "  This 
escapade  started  in  her  determination  to  prove  the 
civilizing  effects  of  the  summer  tourist  upon  the 
country  native." 

"  I  declared  they  had  none,  Miss  Landell,"  said  Ross 
Mevin.  "  Tell  me,  what  possible  civilizing  effects  can 
there  be  in  flocks  of  entities  and  nonentities  so  hybrid 
as  tourists?  Do  they  contribute  anything  more  valu 
able  than  strange  fashions  of  coiffmg  to  the  tree  tops !  " 

"  Yes,  crazy  demonstrations  of  recklessness  such  as 
she  exhibits.  After  all,"  wringing  her  heavy  skirts 
again,  "  summer  and  winter  tourists  are  a  Mahomet 
coming  to  the  mountain.  I  think,  all  in  all,  it  is 
usually  to  the  advantage  of  the  stationary  mountain. 
The  giant,  sleeping  in  the  brain  and  brawn  of  isolated 
sections,  does  not  realize  his  strength  until  his  first  dull, 
perhaps  supercilious,  inspection  of  the  intruder's 
methods,  together  with  a  growing  pique  at  differences 
to  the  advantage  of  the  newcomer,  rouse  him  to  the 
knowledge  that  the  simple  addition  of  a  coat  brush, 
a  clean  collar  and  a  clear-cut  expression,  may  assist  a 
man  of  lesser  calibre  to  outrun  him  in  the  race." 

"  In  short,  he  learns  that  clean  windows  better  dis 
play  his  wares !  "  Mevin  paused  under  a  white-heart 
cherry  tree  at  the  entrance  of  the  Landells'  orchard,  to 
regale  his  companions  and  himself  with  fruit. 

"  That  is  true,"  said  Agnes.  "  Then  comes  the 
nobler  unfoldment, — the  uncoiling  of  the  thinking 
faculties  through  the  interchange  of  ideas;  the  soften 
ing  of  sectional  prejudices  and  a  stronger  grasp  on 
life's  larger  issues." 

"  You  put  us  on  exalted  pedestals, — us  Romanys 
who  wander  from  India  to  Baffin  Bay,  thermometer 


14  The  House  of  Landell 

and  weather  statistics  in  hand  that  we  may  be  kept  at 
proper  temperature  for  forcing.  It  is  a  pity  the  aver 
age  country — and  city — clergyman  does  not  imbibe 
this  liquid  brain  food,  as  he  seems  to  mold  public  opin 
ion." 

Mevin  spoke  lazily,  less  from  interest  than  from  de 
sire  to  watch  the  quickening  thought  announce  itself 
through  Agnes'  sparkling  eyes,  her  flushing  cheeks,  her 
alertness  of  movement,  flashing  through  her  and  rous 
ing  her  to  tense  activity. 

"  An  appropriate  comment, — her  brother's, — that 
she  accompanies  her  thinking  with  a  pyrotechnic  dis 
play,"  and  Mevin  watched  her  analytically.  "  What  a 
beauty  it  makes  of  her.  How  would  it  feel  to  be  keyed 
to  that  pitch  all  the  time !  Could  a  fellow  stand  it  or 
would  he  snap  with  the  strain !  Is  anything  on  earth 
worth  so  much  enthusiasm,  I  wonder!  " 

With  effort  he  focussed  his  attention  on  her  reply,  so 
distracted  was  it  by  the  inherent  charm  of  the  woman. 

"Does  it  begin  with  them?"  she  was  saying,  in 
tensely.  "  On  the  contrary,  my  observation  leads  me 
to  believe  that,  with  notable  exceptions,  the  clergy  are 
crystallized  expressions  of  the  public  calibre." 

"Heaven  help  the  public!"  Mevin  groaned,  iron 
ically. 

"  It  needs  help.  Until  the  public  rises  superior  to 
statements  of  ignorant  pulpit  incumbents,  such  will 
present  error.  We  laymen  must  burst  the  bonds  of 
ignorance  and  struggle  toward  the  liberty  of  God." 

As  she  spoke,  she  seemed  another  being  from  the 
merry  sister  so  interested  in  her  brother's  incipient  ro 
mance.  She  was  enfolded  in  an  atmosphere  of  finer 
forces. 

Mevin  watched  the  change,  perplexed  and  disturbed. 
He  saw  that  her  gaze  did  not  include  him,  and  realized, 
suddenly,  that  neither  time  nor  space  so  effectually 


The  House  of  Landell  15 

could  part  them,  as  this  impenetrable  vestment  which 
enveloped  her. 

"  What  did  it  mean,"  he  thought  wrathfully,  "  that 
she  should  receive  him  on  the  pleasant  cherry-bibbing 
plane  and  shut  him  completely  from  this  other  phase !  " 

To  compel  her  attention,  he  spoke  irrelevantly.  She 
did  not  reply.  Determined  to  unravel  the  mystery 
he  was  still.  Barred  from  realms  of  reality  he  felt 
she  was  entering,  an  unutterable  longing  to  see  with 
her,  possessed  him.  As  he  waited  for  response,  the 
stillness  deepened  within  him,  reaching  depths  he  never 
before  had  sounded.  Calm  stole  through  him  from  a 
centre  he  never  had  apprehended.  He  realized  the  shal- 
lowness  of  his  mental  sophistry  and  felt  himself  grop 
ing  toward  some  stable  platform  for  his  statements, — 
he  could  no  longer  say  his  philosophy  of  life. 

"  I  wish  there  were  a  few  simple  beliefs  worth  while 
for  a  man  to  cling  to  with  the  tenacity  of  life  and 
death,  instead  of  swimming  about,  catching  at  the  flot 
sam  and  jetsam  of  many  theologies,"  he  said,  at  length, 
moodily. 

"  There  are,"  Agnes  replied.  "  When  we  recognize 
this  truth,  the  flotsam  and  jetsam  will  find  their  place 
and  value.  No  matter  how  many  terms  we  use,  imply 
ing  divisions  as  physical,  material,  mental,  it  is  worth 
while  to  realize  that  these  are  all  phases  of  one  con 
sciousness,  and  to  hold  in  our  consciousness,  the  Prin 
ciple,  Unity.  It  is  worth  while  to  believe  that  Spirit 
manifests  in  law  from  centre  to  periphery  and  back  to 
centre  of  the  great  creation.  It  is  worth  while  to  real 
ize  that  we  are  divine  essence  and  possess  constructive 
power  to  shape  environment,  and  that,  though  happi 
ness  and  achievement  are  rightful  possessions  of  life, 
growth  is  its  purpose.  It  is  heart-breaking  to  listen 
to  exhortation  when  our  souls  seek  vital  truths." 

"  The  usual  theological  pratings  are  so  much  cant  to 


1 6  The  House  of  Landell 

me.  The  whole  nomenclature  seems  confined  to  terms 
that  imply  asking  and  taking  help.  What  is  prayer, 
anyhow,  but  a  grand  howl  of  terror  at  something  we 
are  too  cowardly  to  face !  To  pray  for  oneself  is  to  act 
the  beggar  and  induces  a  beggarly  attitude.  To  pray 
for  others  is  impertinence.  How  do  we  know  whether 
they  need  peppermints  or  shoestrings !  Only  one's  own 
determination  avails.  If  no  one  can  kill  us,  as  Epic- 
tetus  affirms,  because  no  one  can  take  from  us  the  life 
principle,  then  no  one  can  affect  us  either  for  good  or 
evil,  excepting  our  own  very  tiresome  selves.  I  do  not 
want  any  one  praying  for  me.  It  is  an  intrusion  on 
my  individuality.  '  I  hope  to  meet  my  pilot  face  to 
face.'  As  far  as  I  see,  church  training  and  example 
cover  sin,  evade  honest  obligations  and  attempt  to  get 
something  for  nothing." 

Momentous  silence.  With  spiritual  reinforcement, 
Agnes  quoted  tenderly,  "  '  Prayer  is  the  contemplation 
of  the  facts  from  the  highest  aspects  of  the  case.'  " 
Another  pause.  "  My  ideals  of  prayer  are  very  dif 
ferent  from  yours,  as  your  words  indicate,"  she  com 
pleted. 

"Ideals!  I  wonder  if  I  have  any!  I  used  to, — 
beautiful  ones.  I  have  almost  forgotten  what  they 
were.  Tell  me  yours !  "  earnestly,  almost  beseechingly, 
seeming  to  forget  they  were  not  alone. 

"  I  wish  I  could.  They  are  so  wonderful  my  soul  is 
filled  with  them;  but  I  live  far  below  them  and  am 
ashamed." 

"  Ashamed !  You  ?  No,  never.  Won't  you  tell 
me  ?  "  he  repeated. 

'  They  are  almost  unspeakable,  except  in  the  living 
of  the  life,  and  there,  too,  I  fail.  Sometime  I  will  try 
to  tell  you."  The  hush  in  her  voice  made  her  listeners 
feel  they  were  at  the  portal  of  her  holy  of  holies. 

The  soft  light  of  the  afternoon  sun  fell  upon  the 


The  House  of  Landell  17 

three  as  they  approached  the  beautiful  home.  Again, 
silence  enfolded  them.  Then  a  slight  breeze  shook  the 
leaves  as  six  feet  of  enthusiastic  humanity  strode  down 
the  path. 

"  How  do  you  do,  Mrs.  Lavelle.  So-long,  Mevin,'' 
said  Tom,  cordially.  "  What  has  happened  to  you, 
Agnes?  You  look  like  a  dinky  mermaid!  Let  down 
your  hair  and  in  all  respects  you  will  be  able  to  sport 
with  the  gold  fish!  Mrs.  Lavelle,  you  are  the  one  to 
confide  in !  Didn't  you  spend  last  winter  in  Gustaga?  " 

Waving  the  rhetoric  he  still  held,  he  continued,  with 
a  boyishness  that  sat  refreshingly  upon  his  maturity: 

"  Listen !  I  will  read  to  you  from  the  spirit  of  this 
book !  I  assure  you, '  thereby  hangs  a  tale ! ' 


CHAPTER  II. 

"  The  tone  of  seeking  is  one.    The  tone  of  hav 
ing  is  another." 

Emerson. 

"  AGNES,  I  have  written  my  letter." 

Mischief  and  a  sweet  intensity  of  purpose  permeated 
the  words.  Agnes,  her  heart  bounding  with  an  affec 
tion  almost  more  maternal  than  sisterly,  looked  across 
to  the  window-seat  where  Tom  was  wound  in  a  tangle 
of  legs  and  arms.  As  she  approached  he  adjusted  his 
anatomy,  handing  her  the  letter. 

"  Read  it  aloud.  I  want  to  feel  it  titillate  the 
tympanum." 

Smiling  at  Tom's  big  words,  and  with  considerable 
curiosity,  Agnes  began: 

To  the  Honorable  Miss  Mattee  Sue  Romaine, 
Gustaga,  Georgia. 

My  dear  Madame, — I  know  you  will  pardon  my  addressing 
you, — one  whom  I  have  never  seen ;  but  listen  while  I  plead 
my  cause. 

Before  me  lies  a  "  Work  on  Composition  and  Rhetoric "  by 
the  renowned  godfather  of  thousands  of  girls  and  boys,  Dr. 
Genung, — who  labored  with  me  as  with  you,  to  crystalize  our 
thought,  in  English,  characterized  by  purity,  precision  and  pro 
priety,  I  hope  I  do  not  overstep  the  bounds  of  this  last  named 
quality  of  rhetoric  and  of  custom,  by  saluting  you,  a  fellow 
student,  and  congratulating  myself  upon  the  possession  of  this 
book  once  belonging  to  you.  To  the  point,  Madame.  I  have 
received  this  volume  from  a  New  York  dealer,  and  find  within, 
the  name  and  address  of  a  former  owner, — as  I  surmise, — with 
annotations  betraying  astuteness  of  perception,  quickness  of  ap 
preciation  and  wit,  keen  and  vigorous.  Are  you  learned, 

18 


The  House  of  Landell  19 

Madame,  that  quotations  leap  so  freely  from  your  pen  to  the 
Margins  of  this  volume,  or  have  you,  alack,  abstracted  them  from 
tie  dictionary?  Do  you  change,  mercurially,  from  grave  to  gay, 
as  your  quatrains  and  aphorisms  would  suggest?  In  such  event, 
foitune  help  the  luckless  wight,  who,  fancying  himself  basking 
in  the  luminosity  of  your  smile,  discovers,  instead,  that  he  is 
deluged  with  the  April  downpour  of  your  changing  humor. 

I  should  like  to  corispond  with  you,  for  having  thus,  fortui- 
tous'y  chanced  (?)  upon  your  name,  sentient  with  charm,  I  have 
called  upon  my  imaging  faculties  for  further  details  of  an  en 
trancing  picture.  It  will  gratify  me  if  you  will  verify  or  correct 
my  mental  portrait,  and,  by  complying  with  my  request,  amplify 
the  exalted  position  my  imagination  accords  you. 

Pray  respond  to  my  letter.  Young  or  old,  married  or  single, 
I  know  you  are  most  interesting.  Tell  me  about  yourself  and 
some  of  the  events  in  the  life  of  this  book,  now  in  my  pos 
session,  culminating  in  its  journey  forth  like  a  carrier  dove, 
direct  :o  my  waiting  hand. 

As  for  me, 

I  am,  Inquisitively  yours, 

TOM  LANDELL, 

of  Beneby,  Massachusetts. 

Agnes  laughed  until  the  tears  brimmed  over,  Tom's 
well-simulated  indignation  increasing  her.  mirth. 

"  What  are  you  scoffing  at?  "  with  pretended  dignity. 

"  Boy,  boy !  Such  a  letter !  You  would  like  to  coru- 
pond!  At  least,  spell  the  word  correctly.  I  wonder 
why  men  are  generally  so  much  worse  spellers  than 
women." 

"  I  hadn't  heard  of  it,"  Torn  flushed  slightly,  but 
refused  to  be  humiliated  as  he  made  the  correction. 
"  What  a  wide  acquaintance  you  must  have,  to  be  able 
to  make  so  sweeping  an  assertion.  I  suppose,"  iron 
ically,  "  you  can  prove  it  by  statistics?  " 

"  I  wonder  if  she  will  ahswer  this  extraordinary 
document." 

"  Why  extraordinary?  "  his  eyes  twinkled. 


2O  The  House  of  Landell 

"  I  never  read  such  a  string  of  words  in  all  my  life. 
What  a  boy  you  are !  " 

"  Why  a  boy?  "    There  was  question  in  the  bante'. 

"  That  you  may  grow  into  the  fulness  of  the  con 
ing  years.  To  be  a  real  boy  at  your  age  is  an  element 
of  greatness  you  will  possess,  likewise,  at  sixty.  Thm, 
as  now,  you  will  be  alternately  a  match  for  Socrates 
and  George  Ade." 

"  Don't  liken  me  to  Socrates !  A  man,  who,  is  a 
husband,  develops  a  woman  into  a  scolding  Xantippe, 
must  be  radically  out  of  gear.  Do  you  suppose  my 
rhetoric-queen  put  this  jessamine  here?"  He  turned 
the  pages  and  with  a  lingering  tenderness  touched  the 
significant  little  spray.  "  I  don't  believe  girls  do  much 
of  that  sort  of  thing  nowadays.  It  touches  my  heart 
strings  and  sets  her  apart  from  the  new  woman,  I'll 
add  to  my  letter  and  ask  her.  Answer  to  that  one 
question  will  do  more  to  place  her  than  anything  else." 

"  Success  to  your  adventure  and  your  corispon- 
dence,"  teased  Agnes,  as  she  left  the  room  and  seated 
herself  at  the  large  organ  in  the  hall. 

She  meditated  while  its  breath  came  sounding 
through  the  pipes,  caressing  the  instrument  as  if  it 
were  a  mighty  and  human  creature.  When  it  had 
given  its  long  awakening  sigh,  it  answered  her  call. 
Notes  in  rapid  succession  flung  forth  tone  pictures,  re 
sponding  to  her  imagination,  and  as  these  pulsed  into 
surging  harmonies,  the  air  was  flooded  with  fragrance 
as  potent  and  as  evident  as  the  moonlight  outside.  The 
hall  seemed  redolent  of  yellow  jessamine,  so  strong 
was  the  projection,  by  her  thought,  of  the  picture  in 
her  mind, — fields  full  of  yellow  wild-flowers,  a  girl 
with  bronze  hair  and  sea-green  eyes,  a  southern  sky, — 
and  Tom. 

At  length  she  ceased  playing,  lovingly  pressed  the 
mute  keys,  drew  down  the  cover,  and  bowed  her  head. 


The  House  of  Landell  21 

"  Home  is  a  dear  place,"  she  said,  a  few  minutes 
later,  standing  at  the  library  door,  viewing,  with  a 
happy  content,  touched  with  an  indefinable  wistfulness, 
the  many-alcoved  room,  then  resting  her  eyes  upon 
the  centre,  where  soft  lights  fell  upon  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Landell.  "  A  dear  place,  dear  in  every  corner,  but 
aglow  with  inspiration  where  the  father  and  mother 
are  enshrined."  A  perceptible  halo  enhanced  the  mys 
terious  charm  of  her  lovely  face. 

Daniel  Landell's  seeing  gaze  met  his  daughter's,  with 
its  little  thorn  of  wistfulness  standing,  militant,  close 
to  the  rose  of  content  blooming  in  the  garden  of  her 
eyes. 

"  Yes,  it  is  an  available  spot  for  nearly  every  one  at 
some  time  in  life,  and  remember,  dear,  the  only  avail 
able  spot  for  any  of  us  is  the  spot  on  which  we  stand. 
What  we  make  of  it  determines  the  futures  of  its 
occupants  and,  therefore,  of  citizens  and  of  nations. 
The  only  question  to  answer,  is,  How  have  we  utilized 
that  spot,  be  it  home  or  Waterloo?  " 

"  Do  you  mean,  father,  that  each  one  is  in  his  or 
her  right  niche?  " 

"  For  the  time  being,  yes.  Not  until  he  has  proved 
himself  on  that  spot,  is  he  ready  for  another  test.  For 
this  reason,  many  never  forge  beyond  a  fixed  place." 

"  Is  that  why  some  meet  with  constant  repetition  in 
life?" 

"  I  think  so,  and  to  me  it  betokens  moral  ineptitude. 
The  province  of  experience  is  to  point  to  its  governing 
principle,  which,  grasped,  leads  to  new  revealments, 
God  never  repeats  unnecessarily.  By  the  way,  Mr. 
Kerrick  asked  my  advice  this  morning,  about  seeking 
a  new  pastorate." 

"  How  do  you  learn  everything,  father  ?  You  never 
ask  questions, — the  sort  that  can  be  heard.  Every 
one,  of  every  cult  and  creed,  comes  to  you  for  solace 


22  The  House  of  Landell 

and  advice,"  she  mused  tenderly.  "  I  suppose  it  is 
because  you  present  an  unbiased  mind  and  are  '  a 
friend  of  truth.'  What  is  his  reason  for  changing?  " 

"  It  was  that  which  put  me  in  mind  of  him,  in  con 
nection  with  what  we  were  saying.  His  complaint  is, 
that  his  audiences  are  unappreciative.  I  can  see  that 
the  miasma  rising  from  his  discontent  is  sufficient  to 
drive  from  him  the  very  appreciation  he  craves.  Con 
stantly,  he  is  sending  his  soul  out  of  his  body  by  run 
ning  ahead  with  his  mind,  not  in  contemplation,  but 
in  emotional  excitement  about  what  he's  done  or  is 
going  to  do  next.  Were  I  to  tell  him  that  such  pro 
cesses  are  part  of  the  horrors  of  black  magic,  he  would 
not  understand.  He  carries  his  discontent  and  his 
soul-bereft  endeavors  through  all  his  situations,  pre 
senting,  instead  of  the  results  of  definite  purpose,  in 
congruous  effects  of  inability  and  doubt.  To  find  his 
vision,  he, — every  one, — must  determine  the  value  of 
the  spot  on  which  he  stands.  This  leads  to  discrimina 
tion  of  new  values  and  of  new  relations  and  the  gradual 
falling  away  of  what  is  undesirable." 

Agnes  waited  a  full  minute  before  she  spoke.  The 
atmosphere  of  prophecy,  which,  to  the  mystification  of 
Ross  Mevin,  had  enwrapped  her  that  afternoon  in 
the  garden,  rested  upon  her  now.  Like  one  who  speaks, 
not  of  her  own  volition,  "  Some  one  will  come,  father, 
who  more  clearly  interprets  the  liberty  of  God,"  she 
said,  and  left  the  room. 

Daniel  LandelFs  eyes  followed  her  comprehendingly. 

"  Helen,"  he  said  slowly  to  his  wife,  "  Agnes  pos 
sesses  wonderful  enfolded  spiritual  powers,"  and  he 
watched  his  daughter  as  she  passed  out  of  sight.  "  Un 
consciously,  she  is  attaining  a  life  ideal,  that  refuses 
to  be  bound  by  visible  limitations." 

"  I  do  not  consider  such  unconsciousness  any  virtue." 
With  a  concerned  expression,  Mrs.  Landell  laid  aside 


The  House  of  Landell  23 

her  book.  "  I  used  to,  in  those  days  when  you  and  I 
were  asleep  and  thought  it  well  to  be  so.  I  suppose  I 
am  partially  responsible  for  the  fact  that  she  goes 
about  like  a  semi-somnambulist,  doing  some  divinely 
beautiful  deeds  and  some  very  unwise  ones,  and,  in 
frantic  questionings  of  wisdom,  or,  in  recovering  from 
blunders,  rushing  into  worse  errors.  Sometimes,  she  is 
wonderful,  as  you  say,  then  again,  she  uses  neither 
reason  nor  intuition,  only  ungoverned  impulse.  When 
she  finds  this  is  at  fault,  she  does  not  train  it  with 
sweet  reasonableness,  but  represses  it.  When,  in  con 
sequence,  it  bursts  its  bonds  in  hysteria,  the  result  is 
disastrous.  Her  attempts  at  self-effacement  are  pitiful. 
Do  you  suppose  that  may  be  traced  to  childhood  train 
ing,  when,  at  my  side,  the  book  upon  my  knee,  she 
imbibed  the  principles  of  The  Great  Stone  Face  pick 
ing  out  the  small  words,  while  I  read  the  others  to 
her,  and  supplied  interpretations.  I  wish  I  had  kept 
still,  as  I  did  with  Tom,  who,  thus,  had  opportunity  to 
grow,  naturally,  into  his  own  conceptions.  I  made 
Agnes  study  the  calculus  of  life  when  she  was  ready 
only  for  the  truths  that  two  and  two  make  four  and 
that  one  cannot  have  one's  cake  and  eat  it  too." 

"  You  can't  prove  even  that,  as  we  now  understand 
processes,"  laughed  Mr.  Landell,  "  for  we  have  the 
cake  even  more  incorporately  than  ever  after  we  have 
eaten  it." 

Mrs.  Landell  laughed,  too,  and  her  tension  was  re 
laxed.  She  resumed. 

"  I  think  her  naturally  enlightened  mind  was  puzzled, 
over  what,  a  few  years  later,  would  have  been  crystal 
clear.  As  I  see  life  now,  I  do  not  know  of  a  more  dis 
astrous  training  than  the  repression  of  the  discrim 
inative  faculty,  by  inhibiting  self,  especially  in  one  as 
sensitive  as  Agnes.  She  has  no  idea  where  she  serves 
in  the  great  plan.  None  of  us  have  for  that  matter; 


24  The  House  of  Landell 

but,  though  it  is  dangerous  to  be  an  egotist,  it  is 
pathetic  to  be  possessed,  as  she  is,  with  a  vital  and 
powerful  individuality,  and  an  intense  belief  that  she 
has  a  definite  place  in  the  world's  work,  and  yet  be  as 
blind  as  a  bat  in  a  wild  hunt  for  it.  I  wish  she  would 
realize  that  our  mission  comes  to  us,  not  we  to  our 
mission." 

"  This  very  training  you  deplore  has  taught  her 
devoutly  to  cultivate  soul  instead  of  mind.  Because 
she  is  in  doubt,  as  you  suggest,  that  very  doubt  leads 
her  to  seek.  She  has  entered  this  present  phase  of  em 
bodiment  with  some  memory  of  the  law  governing  in 
tuition,— 

"  But  far  from  a  complete  revealment.  She  discrim 
inates  about  everything  except  herself.  In  that  regard, 
she  is  never  sure,  however  right  she  may  be.  Do  you 
suppose,  Daniel,  that  might  have  resulted  from  read 
ing  Watts  on  the  Mind  at  the  same  ripe  age  of  six? 
You  know  she  was  always  taught  to  say  hesitatingly, 
'  I  think ! ' 

"  I  recall,"  smiled  Mr.  Landell,  reminiscently,  "  that 
dear  little  blue  book.  Timon  went  into  a  church  and 
killed  a  dog,"  he  dreamed,  aloud.  "  That  was  wrong! 
Why  judge  without  proof!  Timon  was  not  wrong. 
The  dog  was  mad !  Isn't  that  Agnes  all  over  ?  Surely 
it  is  a  splendid  attitude  for  investigation." 

"  I  fear  I  crushed  her  spontaneity.  I  never  told  her  a 
fairy  tale  or  showed  her  a  stone  or  a  sunset  without 
suggesting  that  she  search  for  their  symbolism.  She 
never  sang  a  song  without  approaching  every  tone  and 
word  as  if  they  were  sacraments  to  be  revealed." 

"  Which  they  are,  Helen." 

"  Then  came  that  season  of  spiritual  upheaval  for 
you  and  tragedy  for  us  both — the  death  of  three  babies 
at  the  same  time." 

"  Your  long  illness —  " 


The  House  of  Landell  25 

"  When  I  could  give  the  child  no  attention  and  she 
fell  into  the  hands  of  dear  Luella  with  her  horrible  be 
liefs.  Do  you  know,  I  found,  years  afterwards,  that 
their  favorite  twilight  conversations  consisted  of 
graphic  descriptions  of  the  horrors  of  the  damned, 
the  reading  of  Dante  to  confirm  their  imaginings,  and 
the  assurance  that  Agnes'  beloved  baby  darlings  had  a 
'  special  little  room  in  hell ! ' 

Mr.  Landell's  eyes  were  fixed,  unseeing,  upon  the 
mellowed  lights  in  the  sconces  near-by. 

"  The  first  evening  home,  after  that  long  stay  with 
Luella,  when  you  and  I  were  grappling  with  death  in 
order  to  find  life  for  you,  she  crept  timidly  near,  mak 
ing  no  movement  to  caress  me.  Attributing  this  to  a 
sense  of  strangeness,  I  took  her  in  my  arms.  She  re 
sisted.  '  It  isn't  right/  she  said,  struggling,  '  I  must 
love  only  God  ' — I  was  appalled." 

"  I  remember  how  I  seized  upon  her  as  soon  as  I 
learned  the  state  of  her  mind, — as  much  as  I  have  ever 
learned  it, — and  having  had  it  emphasized  by  her  going 
into  convulsions  when  I  took  up  the  Bible  in  her  pres 
ence,  and  having  been  several  times  roused  by  her 
screaming  in  the  night  in  terror  lest  she  hear  the  '  mid 
night  cry.'  I  disciplined  her  forcefully  in  views  into 
which  I  had  grown  naturally  and  gradually.  I  had  no 
patience  with  Luella's  teachings,  and  as  for  her 
preacher  husband's —  " 

"  I  have  patience  with  them  for  they  are  a  process 
of  growth;  but  the  inner  divine  meaning  of  those  be 
liefs  had  come  to  me  and  for  the  time  I  was  forgetful 
of  their  horrors.  These  had  faded  from -my  mind  or 
been  merged  in  wider  understanding.  The  glories  of 
the  real  intent  were  too  bright  for  me  to  see  past  them 
to  terrors  such  as  were  presented  to  Agnes'  imaginative 
mind.  My  spiritual  unfoldment  was  then  too  imma 
ture  to  see  the  import,  yet  too  advanced  to  accept  the 


26  The  House  of  Landell 

symbol  for  the  real.  I  was  in  the  maze  of  light  that 
comes  often  from  release  of  tension;  in  the  stunning, 
rather  than  the  ministering  effects  of  illumination. 
Like  Martha,  and  seemingly,  of  necessity,  we  were  too 
cumbered  with  serving  to  recognize  and  welcome  the 
unfolding  Christ  within  her  as  we  did  in  Tom.  Still, 
the  isolation  she  has  endured  has  brought  her,  as  noth 
ing  else  could,  to  spiritual  illumination." 

"  She  is  rampant  in  renunciation  and  covers  her 
heart-breaking  sense  of  aloneness  by  a  frigid  exterior. 
The  religious  frenzies  to  which  she  was  exposed  at 
Luella's  have  made  self-abnegation  a  perfect  fetish 
with  her.  Her  whole  thought  is  to  do  for  others,  with 
scant  judgment  as  to  her  capacity  for,  or  the  wisdom 
of,  doing  it.  I  quiver  to  think  what  must  have  been 
her  state  of  mind  when  she  asked  Dr.  Tumbril  at  one  of 
Luella's  state  dinners, — she  always  was  crucifying  the 
flesh  and  pandering  to  it  at  the  same  time, —  " 

"  What  was  it  ?  I  can  see  her  now,  the  darling, 
perched  on  the  dictionary,  with  her  little  curls  bobbing 
so  prettily, —  " 

"  Trembling  with  horror  and  excitement,  she  burst 
out  passionately,  '  Dear  Dr.  Tumbril,  if  the  devil  goes 
about  continually,  as  you  say,  trying  to  catch  little  girls 
with  his  pitchfork  so  as  to  burn  them,  please,  when 
does  he  get  time  to  attend  to  his  fires ! ' 

"  Intuitionally,  she  is  now  far  beyond  the  state  of 
consciousness  which  dwells  in  such  conditions;  but 
with  her  Why-did-Timon-kill-the-dog  education,  she 
cannot  keep  her  mentality  at  rest.  Her  spirit  is  con 
stantly  drawing  her  out  of  that  habit  of  acceptance." 

"  If  only  I  were  sure  of  her  being  in  the  spiritual 
planes  instead  of  in  this  psychic  mash  with  which  the 
world  that  thinks  it  thinks,  is  teeming!  I  fear  it. 
Either  she  represses  her  emotions  as  if  they  were  her 


The  House  of  Landell  27 

slaves  or  unleashes  them,  and,  like  the    dogs  of  Ac- 
taeon,  they  overwhelm  her." 

"  I  do  not  fear.  She  will  not  stop  at  this  law  of 
opposites, — this  negative  expression  of  an  idea  to 
wards  the  unfoldment  of  which  she  is  moving.  She 
will  have  less  part  in  sorrowful  experiences  and  blun 
dering  mistakes  as  she  unifies  her  intelligence  with  the 
divine  Storehouse.  '  The  Christ-consciousness,'  Helen, 
'  is  the  perception  and  realization  of  Universal  Pur 
pose,  Universal  Unity  and  the  Universal  Presence.' 
'  If  we  are  stayed  on  God  at  the  centre,  we  need  have 
no  fear.' " 


CHAPTER  III. 

"  The  Christ-consciousness  is  the  perception  and 
the  realization  of  the  Universal  Purpose,  the  Uni 
versal  Unity  and  the  Universal  Presence." 

Ben].  Fay  Mills. 

AGNES  left  the  library  in  the  state  of  exaltation  al 
ways  accompanying  her  prophetic  moods;  but,  even 
as  she  passed  from  the  brilliantly  lighted  hall  to  the 
darkness  of  her  room,  the  inevitable  overwhelmed  her. 
Why  was  it  her  bitter  fate  that,  after  a  period  of  vision, 
her  physical  strength  should  vanish?  Why  the  reac 
tion  so  overwhelming? 

As  in  a  frenzy,  she  undressed,  and  slipped  into  a 
gown,  holding  her  breath  and  clenching  her  teeth  to 
suppress  the  screams  that  struggled  for  utterance. 
Sinking  by  the  bedside,  she  clutched  the  coverlid,  bury 
ing  her  face  in  its  friendly  snowy  folds.  A  wild  hurly- 
burly  of  failures,  of  blatant  nothings,  assailed  her;  the 
pressure  of  ten  thousand  demands  weighed  agoniz 
ingly  upon  her.  She  felt  as  if  Pandemonium  were  un 
loosed  and  intelligences,  vampire-like,  were  sucking 
from  her  the  strength  they  ghoulishly  desired,  attempt 
ing  to  force  themselves  into  manifestation  through  the 
medium,  not  only  of  her  organism,  but  of  her  integrity. 
In  the  intensity  of  her  repression  and  terror,  a  sense  of 
strangling  overcame  her  and,  with  a  wild  gasp  and  a 
fierce  mental  clutch  at  the  thing,  which,  poor  and  in 
efficient  though  it  might  be,  she  called  herself,  she  gave 
a  hoarse,  almost  inarticulate,  cry. 

28 


The  House  of  Landell  29 

"Agnesia!" 

A  voice  at  the  door  sent  a  soothing  sense  of  protec 
tion  into  the  density  of  her  horror. 

"  Agnesia !  "  and  Tom  entered  the  room. 

"  Tomsey,"  lifting  heavy,  frightened  eyes,  "  I  tried 
so  hard  to  control  myself,  I  did  indeed.  I  have  been 
struggling  here  for  an  hour." 

"  This  is  no  time  for  control."  Tom  crossed  to 
where  his  sister  sobbed  in  agony.  "  Scream  all  you 
want  to.  This  house  is  altogether  too  quiet." 

Disappearing  into  the  bathroom,  he  returned  with  a 
footbath  full  of  steaming  water. 

"  Get  into  this.  Where  is  your  rug?  Now,  dearie," 
he  cuddled  the  soft  silken  wrap  about  her  as  he  spoke, 
"  put  your  head  on  my  coat  breast  and  your  footsies 
in  the  water." 

Blindly,  Agnes  obeyed.  She  held  his  hand  and,  in 
her  attempts  at  repression,  set  her  teeth  into  his  sleeve, 
that  she  might  smother  her  cries.  Gradually  the  nerve 
strain  relaxed  and  she  gave  a  sad,  sobby  little  laugh. 

"  They  call  me  a  woman  of  poise,  Tomsey,  of  poise 
and  of  self-control!  " 

"  You  tell  a  big  fairy  tale  when  you  say  you  have  no 
strength.  Phew !  You  pinched  me  black  and  blue !  " 

"  Horrible !  "    The  tears  burned  behind  her  eyeballs. 

"  Why  no !  When  you  suffer  so,  it  would  be  a  pity 
if  I  could  not  help  you  out  a  pinch!  "  he  returned,  for 
he  was  at  the  punning  stage,  which  is  as  incident  to 
certain  mental  attitudes  as  mumble-pegs  and  marbles 
are  to  youth.  Hastily,  he  added  hot  water  to  that  cool 
ing  in  the  tub,  and  the  paroxysm  died  away.  "  Cheer 
up,  Agnesia,  you  have  not  had  an  attack  like  this  for  a 
long  time." 

"  Tom,  father  says  the  only  available  spot  is  the  one 
we  stand  on.  Mine  is  so  full  of  pain,  physical  and 
mental,  I  dare  not  use  the  spot  on  which  I  stand.  I 


3O  The  House  of  Landell 

have  tried,  but  again  and  again  have  been  thrown  back 
by  the  fact  that  I  cannot  utilize  this  wealth  of  power 
within  me,  because,  in  some  way  I  cannot  see,  I  have 
confronted  the  law  and  been  broken  on  its  wheel.  Why 
can't  I  find  out  what  is  the  matter?  Why  couldn't  I 
years  ago,  when  I  tried  and  tried, —  "  sobs  choked  her 
utterance,  "  I  tried  and  God  wouldn't  let  me,  and  people 
are  always  telling  me  I  would  be  better  if  I  went  about 
and  did  more.  God  won't  let  me.  Things  that  are 
nothing  to  others  inundate  me,  and,  after  a  long  time, 
I  find  that  they  meant  a  great  deal.  It  isn't  that  I  keep 
myself  apart.  What  is  it?  I  have  thought  sometimes 
I  was  being  prepared  for  a  great  work,  but  that  can't 
be,  for  what  I  attempt  doesn't  do,  somehow." 

"  Perhaps,  unconsciously  to  yourself,  you  are  being 
prepared.  You  seek  marvels." 

"  I  do  not,  and,  as  for  consciousness,  I  am  in  the 
cosmic  consciousness  so  constantly  that  I  stand  apart 
and  observe  everything  I  do.  I  never  have  been  al 
lowed  to  be  unconscious  in  work  or  in  play.  Do  you 
remember  the  man  who  longed  for  truth  and  saw  it 
and  went  mad?  You  don't  suppose, —  " 

"  No,  no,  dearie !  "  He  caught  the  hand  she  threw 
out  with  a  despairing  gesture.  "  Never !  Your  feet 
are  set  on  the  Rock!  You  are  different  from  others 
and  always  will  be,  for  your  consciousness  is  alive  and 
you  see  vitality  in  countless  things  in  which  others  see 
nothing.  You  live  a  million  pulsations  to  their  one. 
Why  grieve  that  you  fly  like  the  eagle  instead  of  crawl 
ing  like  the  worm?  " 

"  I  dare  not  use  the  spot  on  which  I  stand.  I  am 
making  nothing  of  it." 

"  You  are  making  a  great  howl  of  self-condemna 
tion  of  it,  to  my  mind,  and  that  is  the  cause  of  most 
of  your  cataclysms.  What  do  you  mean  by  using?  " 

"  Doing  something!    Being  something!  " 


The  House  of  Landell  31 

"  Being  something,  yes.  That's  the  one  thing  you — 
we — can't  avoid.  The  quicker  we  get  that  into  our 
minds,  the  better.  It  is  the  quality  we  invest  it  with 
that  comes  within  our  jurisdiction." 

"  I  have  never  thought  of  it  so,"  and  calm  rose 
hopefully  out  of  her  despair.  "  I  long  to  be  of  service 
to  all  and  am  balked  at  every  turn." 

Tom's  eyes  twinkled,  then,  with  his  inimitable 
humor, 

"  That  is  an  ambition.  Greed  to  possess  is  trace 
able  in  everything.  Hog  is  known  by  his  attitude  of 
mind,  throughout  his  changing  shapes  and  careers, 
from  protomorphic  to  man." 

"  You  would  make  fun  of  your  coffin." 

"  I  certainly  would,  for  expecting  to  keep  me  con 
fined." 

"  I  want  to  do.  Why  am  I  cut  off  from  everything 
useful?" 

"  You  have  whip-lashed  yourself,  physically,  almost 
to  death  and  you  know  it." 

"  I  do,  and  it  is  to  get  away  from  this, — oh,  I  don't 
know  what, — there  it  is  again, — I  do  wish  Cousin 
Matilda  would  let  me  alone." 

"  What  has  Cousin  Matilda  to  do  with  what  we  are 
talking  about?  " 

"  She  wants  me." 

"  Agnes ! "  Tom  looked  at  his  sister  intently. 
"  This  must  be  stopped.  Your  nerves, —  " 

"I  can  prove  it  is  something  besides  nerves;  but 
what,  I  don't  know." 

"  Chirky,"  he  continued  to  add  humor  to  per 
suasiveness  in  his  attempt  to  help  his  beloved  sister, 
"  you  seem  to  have  no  more  idea  of  what  a  day's  work 
means,  than  that  mask  you  were  buying  for  Jimmy 
Parsons  when  you  reeled  over  in  a  dead  faint  after 
you  had  trained  and  conducted  a  pageant,  run  a  church 


32  The  House  of  Landell 

bazaar,  looked  after  the  house  for  Josef  Hal's  wife 
while  the  baby  was  on  the  way,  continued  your  studies 
in  oratory  and  music,  and  attended  to  literary  and 
other  work  at  intervals." 

"  I  never, — well,  if  I  did,  they  wanted  me  to !  " 

"  You  are  too  noble  to  mind  the  they  who  are  scan 
dal-mongers;  why  then,  listen  to  the  they  who  try  to 
own  you  when  God  has  given  you  a  Thinker!  If  you 
question  the  accuracy  of  what  I  say,  look  back  to  your 
diary, — you  were  writing  an  exhaustive  one  at  the 
time,  while  acting  as  treasurer  of  some  benevolent 
building  fund,  and,  rather  than  come  to  father  or  me, 
sitting  up  night  after  night  puzzling  over  accounts  until 
so  weary  you  couldn't  see  straight." 

"  I  am  glad  you  give  me  credit  for  something.  It 
is  true,  I  never  call  on  others  to  help  me  out  of  what 
my  ill-advised  activities  get  me  into,  I  want  to  do  the 
Lord's  work.  I  am  His  for  Him  to  use." 

"  No  one  pours  water  into  a  filled  or  cracked  bowl, 
at  least,  not  if  they  have  good  sense.  Give  your  Maker 
credit  for  as  much  intelligence  as  you  know  you  your 
self  should  have." 

"  He  has  it  all;  I  have  none." 

Tom  looked  puzzled.     Presently,  he  continued, 

"  I  am  not  criticizing,  but  I  do  want  to  help  you. 
Think  how  little,  in  the  world's  way,  father  does;  but 
he  is  felt  everywhere.  If  he  does  speak  it  is  worth 
one's  while  to  listen." 

"  People  simply  adore  you  and  father.  You  don't 
seem  to  make  any  attempt  to  attract  them  even  by 
wishing, —  " 

"  Wishing  and  longing,  you  know,  are  the  poorest 
methods  of  attracting.  They  generally  succeed  in  re 
pelling.  The  only  reason  I  know  for  people's  liking 
me  is  that  I  am  so  everlastingly  delighted  because  I 


The  House  of  Landell  33 

find  life  worth  while,  they  like  to  come  round  to  find 
out  what's  the  joke." 

"  That  isn't  all  of  it.  You  know  it.  I  am  radiantly 
happy  and  enthusiastic  in  all  I  do,  yet  people  stand  off 
and  watch  me  as  the  lions  eyed  Daniel  in  the  den." 

"  Perhaps  they  realize  that  you  move  in  a  larger  orbit 
than  they,  which  sweeps  you  into  clearer  recognition  of 
verities  than  they  possess,- and  fail  to  comprehend  that 
still  you  hold  fast  to  much  they  know  and  love  and 
understand.  That  is  all,  dearie,  I  feel  sure.  Realize 
that,  and  one  barrier  will  come  down  at  once." 

"  If  I  talk  to  those  who  don't  understand,  they  are 
afraid  of  me,  and  if  I  talk  to  those  who  do  know  they 
are  afraid  I  won't  understand  them.  I  am  in  a  dread 
ful  position  and  I  don't  know  what  to  do!  The  only 
ones  who  come  to  me  are  those  who  don't  help  me. 
Don't  I  need  help,  too,  Tomsey,  don't  I  ?  " 

Tom  sat  silent  till  the  rising  storm  abated.  After 
awhile  he  said,  thoughtfully,  "If  you  don't  want  an 
attack  of  neuralgia,  send  after  that  heart-breaking  ad 
mission  of  lack  of  perception  as  to  the  universal  pur 
pose,  your  strong  faith  in  the  working  out  of  law. 
Make  it  strong  enough  to  counteract  the  poison  you 
have  given  yourself." 

"  It  is  excruciating  to  be  forced  to  follow  directions 
blindly,  instead  of  being  aided  in  establishing  condi 
tions  I  know  exist.  Matilda,  stop !  "  She  threw  out 
her  arms  as  if  freeing  herself  from  some  suffocating 
pressure,  "  I  know  that  too  often  my  mind's  pictures 
are  mud-houses,  instead  of  cathedrals, — but  how  to 
supplant  one  with  the  other !  " 

"  In  your  sincere  search  for  truth, — far  beyond 
mine,"  Tom  dropped  his  bantering  manner,  "  you  have 
neglected  to  act  upon  one  statement  of  principle,  and 
law  has  brought  you  to  a  standstill." 

Again  the  light  of  kindly  humor  crept  into  his  eyes 


34  The  House  of  Landell 

and  softened  his  words,  while  it  brought  an  answering 
smile  to  Agnes'  wistful  ones  and  a  line  of  strength 
to  her  quivering  lips. 

"  This  is  the  statement :  '  It  is  waste  to  take  up  and 
use  an  experience  received  through  any  organism,  un 
less  that  organism  is  strong  enough  and  refined  enough 
for  use.'  When  it  is  strong  enough,  the  owner  of  the 
organism  will  find  that  many  trying  experiences  are 
neither  sought  nor  presented.  Strengthen  your  organ 
ism,  Agnes,  the  physical  body, — and  refuse  to  subject 
it  to  any  experience  beyond  its  strength." 

"  There  is  some  sense  and  a  lot  of  nonsense  in  what 
you  say.  How  would  a  baby  grow  symmetrically  if  he 
did  not  use  his  mechanism !  " 

"  Use,  yes.    Abuse,  no." 

"  I  know  I  do  not  make  the  connection  clear  between 
my  ideas  and  their  expression.  Why  not?  " 

"  Habit  of  thought,  perhaps.  There  are  physicians 
who  might  dismiss  your  attacks  of  alternate  exaltation 
and  gloom,  unusual  strength  and  complete  exhaustion, 
with  the  diagnosis,  neurasthenia,  and,  according  to 
their  school,  urge  immediate  and  absolute  rest,  which 
is  as  sensible  as  to  release  the  tension  of  a  violin  string 
too  suddenly.  We  psychurgists,  who  assist  the  forma 
tion  of  physical  structure  and  function  by  the  introduc 
tion  of  noble  mind  pictures,  as  patterns  to  be  worked 
into  the  material  expression,  would  see,  in  these  attacks 
of  yours,  the  conditions  which  induce  their  expression, 
and  observe  phases  of  character  unfoldment  out  of 
sequence,  by  reason  of  which,  the  nerves  lack  the  trans 
mitted  knowledge  to  cooperate  with  the  finer  forces 
of  mind  as  the  soul  presents  them." 

Agnes  veered  from  one  view  of  the  question  to  an 
other  with  her  usual  desire  to  compass  the  horizon,  not 
caring  whether  she  appeared  to  be  man's  wise  man  or 
God's  fool. 


The  House  of  Landell  35 

"  Spirit  makes  our  organs  and  endows  them  with 
latent  power  equal  to  their  tasks." 

"  Through  that  very  statement,  you  explain  why  so 
many  come  to  you  for  help.  Despite  all  your  fears, 
inherently,  you  know  Truth." 

"  I  can't  trace  it.  I  get  a  blurred  message.  Matilda, 
let  me  alone!  " 

"  You  seem  to  be  getting  some  -sort  of  message  from 
Cousin  Matilda,  or  think  you  do,"  said  Tom,  curiously. 
"  I  believe  it  is  the  latter.  Why  do  you  talk  with  her, 
a  mile  away,  at  the  other  end  of  town,  while  you  are 
here  in  your  room  with  me  ?  " 

"  She  will  not  let  me  alone.  Night  after  night,  when 
I  try  to  sleep,  she  impresses  me  with  the  idea  that  I 
should  be  doing  something  for  her,  or  something  dif 
ferent  from  what  I  am  doing.  But  I  do  not  get  the 
message  clearly  enough  to  act  upon  it  intelligently." 

"  It  is  a  mental  state.  You  are  everlastingly  try 
ing  to  help  people  who  don't  need  it,  as  well  as  those 
who  do.  Your  mind  gets  tired  out,  following  your  im 
mense  self -accreted  family  of  incapables,  until  it  con 
structs  images  which  you  believe  come  from  some 
where." 

"  I  thought  so  for  a  long  time ;  but  these  feelings,— 
if  you  wish  to  call  them  that,  rather  than  messages,— 
are  always  followed  by  a  message  or  letter  indicating 
the  very  hour  I  am  disturbed.  I  do  all  I  can  for 
her,— 

"  Shades  of  Caesar's  ghost !  "  Again  Tom  adopted 
humor  for  his  instrument,  thinking  he  could  thus  re 
lieve  the  tension  and  because  the  whole  affair  seemed 
to  him  unutterably  ridiculous.  "  It  is  just  as  disreput 
able  to  believe  living  persons  are  using  your  organism 
as  it  is  to  dress  in  greasy  wrappers  and  live  over  the 
green-grocer's  to  the  tune  of  a  quarter  for  introduc- 


36  The  House  of  Landell 

ing  you  to  your  dead  grandmother's  mother-in-law. 
Put  it  down  as  nerves  at  once." 

"  Do  such  things  ever  happen  to  you  ?  " 

"  I  hope  not !  "  Tom  straightened  his  shoulders  as 
suredly.  "  Every  morning  I  see  what  I  see  with  my 
eyes, —  " 

"What  eyes?" 

"  These  eyes.  I  hear  what  I  hear  with  these  ears. 
I  touch  what  I  touch  with  these  fingers,  and  I  believe 
— what  are  you  doing  ?  You  will  suffocate  me !  " 

He  drew  aside  her  hand  which  had  seized  his  nostrils 
and  covered  his  mouth. 

"  Could  you  see  what  gave  you  life, — what  I  cut  off 
just  then?" 

"  I  want  you  to  stop  your  notions,  Agnes  dear,"  ig 
noring  her  virile  illustration.  "  This  about  Matilda  is 
coincidence.  It  is  dangerous  to  indulge  in  such 
fancies." 

"  I  can  prove  it  in  the  morning,  for  I  am  sure  to 
get  a  letter  from  her ;  but  you  still  could  call  it  coinci 
dence.  It  isn't  very  late,"  and,  having  recovered  from 
her  hysteria,  she  sprang  to  her  feet.  "  We  will  prove 
or  disprove  this,  here  and  now.  I  shall  be  as  glad  as 
you  if  I  am  mistaken." 

In  a  few  minutes  they  were  in  the  cool,  sweet  sum 
mer  night,  on  the  way  to  Cousin  Matilda's.  They 
found  her  sitting  on  the  piazza. 

"  I  had  made  up  my  mind  it  was  quite  time  for  my 
relatives  to  inquire  if  I  were  alive  or  dead,"  was  her 
pleasant  greeting.  "  I  despatched  a  letter  to  you  this 
evening,  Agnes,  and  one  to  you,  Tom.  They  should 
reach  you  in  the  morning." 

"  I  do  try  to  see  you  every  day,  Cousin  Matilda," 
said  Agnes,  pitifully,  while  Tom  stood  dumb  before 
the  demonstration  of  a  truth  at  which  he  had  scoffed 
but  of  which  he  had  experienced  nothing.  "  My  time 
is  filled  with  calls  I  cannot  seem  to  control." 


The  House  of  Landell  37 

"  Control  them,  as  I  do,"  was  the  sombre  rejoinder. 
"  Very  early  in  life  I  was  taught  to  control  my  will 
and  to  control  conditions." 

"  Did  you  ever  take  up  the  study  of  intelligence, 
Cousin  Matilda  ?  "  said  Tom,  wickedly.  "  It  is  inter 
esting  and  of  very  broad  scope.  Is  there  anything  we 
may  do  for  you  ?  " 

"  I  thank  you,  no,"  was  the  austere  response.  "  My 
maids  are  allsufficient." 

"  They  serve  the  same  purpose  as  the  armor  in  the 
hall, — add  to  family  prestige  ?  " 

"  They  do  more ;  they  add  to  my  comfort,  which 
some  of  the  younger  members  of  my  family  seem  to 
care  little  about." 

"  We  cared  enough  to  come  down  here  after  we'd 
gone  to  bed,"  burst  forth  Tom.  He  was  furious  with 
the  old  woman  for  Agnes'  sake,  but  his  words  were 
as  rose  leaves  on  a  green  sward.  She  replied, 

"  That  is  quite  as  it  should  be.  Agnes,  I  very  much 
wish  to  see  you  to-morrow  morning,  early.  Shall  we 
say  seven  o'clock  ?  " 

"  I  wouldn't,"  advised  Tom,  for  Agnes  was  too  over 
whelmed  to  assert  herself,  "  it  does  not  agree  with  my 
sister  to  get  up  early." 

"  So  I  recall.  It  occurred  to  me  it  would  be  a  very 
good  plan  to  correct  that  habit.  I— 

"  Perhaps  she  will  drop  in  later  in  the  forenoon,"  and 
Tom  drowned  Agnes'  acquiescence  and  rather  tersely 
bade  Miss  Bolden  good  night,  as  he  drew  his  sister, 
quivering,  away. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

"  Rich  minds  sleep.    Why  talk  of  action! " 

Emerson. 

THE  brother  and  sister  retraced  their  steps  in  the 
soothing  stillness  of  the  summer  night.  They  looked 
to  the  heavens,  which  vouchsafed  no  solution  to  this 
experience.  Instead,  little  forks  of  atmosphere,  flang 
ing  up  from  the  horizon,  seemed  to  hold  upon  their 
tips,  tidbits  of  knowledge  that  the  luminous,  unfathom 
able  blue  gathered  into  its  mysterious  depths  before 
their  minds  or  imaginations  could  feed  upon  them. 

"  Dear  little  girl !  "  There  was  a  different  quality 
in  Tom's  voice.  "  What  a  tragedy  you  are  facing ! 
Is  the  sweep  of  your  orbit,  then,  so  much  larger  than 
mine?  When  I  shut  my  door  and  refuse  my  mail,  I 
am  alone.  You  never  are !  " 

"  Never !  My  room  is  full  of  mentalities  making 
demands  on  me.  I  tell  you,  it  is  not  the  work  I  do, 
it  is  this  obsession  I  do  not  know  how  to  deal  with, 
that  incapacitates  me.  Can  you  tell,  weeks  ahead,  when 
some  one  is  going  to  ask,  impel  or  try  to  compel  you 
to  do  something?  Can  you  trace  every  move  they 
make,  so  that  when  it  is  disclosed  you  are  too  exhausted 
to  meet  or  repel  it  ?  " 

"  No;  but  if  I  did,  I'd  take  it  as  a  game  and,  instead 
of  worrying,  be  assured  I  was  getting  the  campaign 
into  my  hands  in  advance.  How  is  it  I  never  knew 
this  about  you?  Why,  yes,  I  have.  As  far  back  as 
I  can  remember  I  have  known  your  crying  attacks  to 
be  forerunners  of  something  or  other.  But  I  don't 

38 


The  House  of  Landell  39 

think  I'm  an  analyst.  Now  I've  waked  up  to  study 
human  nature, — it's  nerves,  though." 

"  Please  don't  say  that  again.  It  may  be,  in  part, 
it  may  be  wholly  that.  I  feel  sure  it  has  nothing  to 
do  with  spirituality.  I  am  dreadfully  afraid  it  is  emo 
tionalism  and  I  abhor  emotions !  " 

"  You  need  medicine, —  " 

"  Yes — but  I  need  something  else.  I  need  training 
as  well  as  treating." 

"  We  treat  mental  states, —  " 

"  Don't  confound  abnormal  mental  states  with  an 
unusually  large  sweep  of  mental  vision." 

"  Nor  should  you  condemn  emotions  wholesale  be 
cause  you  are  not  pleased  with  the  messages  they  bring 
you.  In  any  case,  body  must  be  made  to  coordinate 
with  the  duty  given  it  to  fulfil." 

"  It  isn't  much  use  to  talk  about  it,"  sighed  Agnes, 
wearily.  '  The  other  side  always  makes  me  feel  as 
if  I  were  fit  for  Bloomingdale,  when  I  know  I  am  just 
a  pollywog  struggling  into  the  frog  stage.  It  frightens 
me  when  any  one  acts  as  if  I  were  not  normal— 

"  I  know  this,  anyhow,"  said  Tom,  positively,  "  it 
can  do  no  harm  to  place  your  body  under  strict  train 
ing.  Then,  if  this  is  unfoldment,  it  will  be  coordinated 
to  its  duty,  and  if  nerves,  these  strange  conditions  will 
disappear." 

"  What  is  that?  "  Agnes  seized  Tom's  arm  quickly, 
then  released  it. 

"  It  is  Harmon  Fraser." 

"  What  makes  him  walk  so  peculiarly?  " 

"  Dear  little  child,  who  lives  in  dreams,  he  is,  what  is 
vulgarly  called,  drunk." 

"  I  thought  he  was  most  exemplary." 

"  So  many  think.  He  lives  under  the  delightful 
cognomen  of  night-drinker." 

"What  a  terrible  tragedy  for  his  wife!     I  should 


4O  The  House  of  Landell 

think  she  would  be  frightened  to  death.  Perhaps  that 
is  why  she  seemed  so  disagreeable  yesterday.  I  thought 
it  was  because  she  didn't  like  me.  There  it  is  again. 
I  get  impressions;  but  cannot  trace  them.  It  makes  a 
dreadful  mix-up." 

She  retired  for  a  moment  into  what  Tom  did  not 
recognize  as  an  ominous  silence.  Meanwhile,  Harmon 
Fraser  reeled  toward  them.  To  Tom's  horror,  Agnes 
held  out  her  hand  in  friendly  manner. 

"Good  evening,  Mr.  Fraser,  are  you  ill?  Please 
go  directly  home,"  she  said,  softly  and  persuasively. 
"  One  can  tell  by  your  gait  that  it  is  quite  necessary." 

The  man  looked  at  her  uncomprehendingly,  then 
lifted  his  hat.  "  Miss  Landell,  good  evening.  I  am 
glad  to  speak  with  you;  but  permit  me  to  say  that  if 
I  choose  to  circle  about  in  the  moonlight  instead  of 
walking  on  the  square,  I  feel  privileged  to  do  so, 
though  I  thank  you  for  your  interest  in  me."  He 
wavered  on,  disregarding  Tom,  who  stood  aside,  dumb 
founded. 

Agnes  paused  till  Fraser  had  passed ;  then,  her  eyes 
filled  with  tears,  "  What  is  it,  Tom  ?  I  try  to  obey 
the  teaching, '  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive/ 
and, '  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,' — and  with  what  re 
sult  !  I  have  given  unstintedly  all  my  life ;  now  I  have 
no  vitality  left,  like  thousands  who  have  followed 
the  same  path,  come  to  the  same  turning,  and  lain  down 
to  die.  Yet  the  books  and  preachers  give  as  the  uni 
versal  panacea,  do,  do,  do,  when  you  haven't  strength 
left  from  your  former  doing  to  wash  your  own  face, 
and  have  to  ask  some  one  else  to  do  it  for  you.  If  un 
happy,  do  for  some  one;  it  will  make  you  happy.  If 
bitter,  do  for  some  one  you  dislike.  It  will  sweeten 
your  frame  of  mind.  For  what?  To  get!  The  whole 
system  of  self-sacrifice  seems  built  on  colossal  selfish 
ness.  What  is  it  ?  Where  do  I  fail  ?  " 


The  House  of  Landell  41 

"  I  think  you  read  other  people's  orders  instead  of 
your  own.  If  you  are  working  yourself  to  death,  why 
hang  on  your  dressing-table  some  spur  to  the  lazy! 
The  saving  of  self  to  the  self  is  destructive;  wise  con 
servation  of  self  is  constructive.  It  is  more  blessed  to 
give  than  to  receive,  but  some  of  you  saintly  givers 
must  learn  to  receive  more  freely  in  order  to  give  more 
intelligently." 

"  But  for  the  comprehension  of  all  you  dear  ones,  I 
might  have  been  in  the  mad  house.  You  understand 
that  I  represent  a  phase,  not  a  disease.  To  know  I  am 
giving  you  anxiety  adds  to  my  torture.  I  don't  mind 
being  crucified ;  but  I  cannot  bear  to  have  any  one  suffer 
for  me, — Jesus  or  any  one !  It  makes  me  almost  in 
sane  to  think  of  His  sufferings.  I  shall  go  mad  if  I 
add  to  His  sorrow.  I  must  bear  my  own  burdens; 
grow  so  strong  in  unity  with  the  Great  Purpose,  that 
no  weight  seems  heavy.  God  never  meant  that  we 
should  shunt  everything  on  to  Jesus,  who  came  to  teach 
us  how  to  become  equal  to  service,  not  to  evade  it.  I 
am  not  unbalanced  nor  blasphemous.  I  am  struggling 
for  truth." 

"  Truth  is  balance  and  faith  is  one  of  the  steps  by 
which  we  realize  it." 

"  I  wish  I  had  had  your  start  in  life.  I  was  taught 
the  old  conception  of  self-sacrifice  until  I  thought  the 
only  way  to  be  Christ-like  was  to  go  about  mangled 
and  half  dead.  Now,  because  it  discloses  dishonesty 
and  incapacity,  it  is  positively  vulgar  not  to  be  well 
and  poised." 

"If  you  feel  that  way,  why  cling  to  dogmas  that 
attribute  to  your  Leader,  the  very  qualities  you  deplore, 
and  which  I  believe  He  never  had.  This  very  minute 
you  seem  semi-paralyzed  because  an  ill-advised  attempt 
to  teach  a  man,  not  in  possession  of  his  faculties,  is  ill- 
received.  You  are  so  wise  you  appal  me,  and  so — 


42  The  House  of  Landell 

"Stupid?" 

"  Call  it  that — that  you  astound  me.  It  must  come 
from  mixed  ideals." 

"  I  have  one  Ideal ;  but  I  am  mixed  in  my  ideas  of 
reaching  it.  I  sit  Sunday  after  Sunday  striving  to  hold 
to  my  Ideal  of  universal  purpose,  unity  and  the  Uni 
versal  Presence  through  the  presentation  of  such  ideas 
as  Mr.  Kerrick's.  Sunday  after  Sunday,  from  the  pul 
pit,  Christianity  is  used  as  the  lion's  skin  covering  the 
donkey  of  dogma,  with  ears  of  deceit  and  of  conceit, 
and  a  voice  braying  ignorance." 

"  Why  do  it !  The  constant  struggle  to  reconcile 
such  ideas  with  your  Ideal  is  largely  responsible  for 
your  nervous  condition —  " 

"  It  is  more  than  a  nervous  condition.  I  am  seeking 
and  growing  through  many  phases."  Her  mind  re 
verted  to  her  previous  statement  and  she  shuddered. 

"  Think  of  Christ  being  likened  to  a  cow-catcher !  " 
Her  lips  almost  refused  the  words.  "  Mr.  Kerrick 
used  that  figure,  and  went  on  to  say  that  as  the  faucet 
at  the  end  of  the  car  makes  clean  the  hands  and  soil 
of  garments,  so  Jesus, — !  Think  of  proclaiming  The 
Great  One,  scavenger  of  the  world.  Mr.  Kerrick  is 
not  the  only  one  who  makes  such  comparisons.  Do 
you  suppose  our  ideas  seem  as  crude  and  immature  to 
others  more  unfolded, — do  you  suppose  they  do  to 
Jesus?" 

"  I  suspect  He  loves  to  observe  unfoldment,  and, 
pending  larger  understandings,  rejoices  even  in  that 
conception  of  Himself.  I  cannot  but  feel,  however, 
that  it  is  useless  suffering  for  you  to  force  yourself  to 
listen  to  what  I,  in  my  stage  of  growth,  call  blas 
phemous  stuff.  Why  stay  there?" 

"  I  am  told  to." 

"Aren't  you  a  free  moral  agent?     I  should  think 


The  House  of  Landell  43 

you  would  have  delirium  tremens  thinking  ahead  to 
Sunday." 

"  It  is  no  outward  compulsion.  If  we  have  a  truth 
we  should  remain  where  we  can  impart  it  to  those  who 
have  it  not." 

"If  their  conceptions  lead  them  no  higher  than  to 
a  cow-catcher,"  he  shuddered,  "  wh^  confine  your  flight 
to  their  limitations?  They  need  one  nearer  the  earth 
to  teach  them." 

"  Or  farther  from  it.  I  remain  to  assist  their 
growth." 

"  No,  no,  little  sister,"  Tom  lifted  a  strand  of  hair 
that  had  fallen  over  her  eyes,  tenderly  drawing  it  back 
from  the  noble  forehead  and  the  straining  brows  raised 
in  fierce  endeavor  to  open  spiritual  eyes  to  the  relation 
of  truth  with  All-Truth,  "  you  help  me  because  you 
see  far  more  deeply  than  I  do.  We  walk  side  by  side 
through  this  existence,  but  you  fly  above  me  and,  from 
above,  cry  gladly,  '  Come  up,  soul,  into  the  sunlight, 
where  caterpillars  are  butterflies  and  visions  have  be 
come  realizations.' ' 

"  How  can  we  help  others  if  we  are  not  willing  to 
suffer?" 

"  Not  by  dwelling  on  the  suffering.  Until  we 
rise  through  it  spiritually  we  will  be  stamped  with  it 
physically.  We  must  be  careful  what  we  brood  over, 
for  brooding  brings  the  latent  into  expression,  be  it 
a  viper  or  a  Christ." 

"  Don't  I  do  anything  right?  "  Agnes  searched  her 
brother's  face  wistfully. 

"  Indeed,  yes;  but  you  are  so  afraid  you  won't  be 
ready  for  crucifixion,  you  contemplate  it  constantly 
and  are  always  getting  the  nails  ready  for  yourself. 
You  may  be  wiser  than  I  but  I  am  sure  this  self-con 
demnation  is  not  constructive.  Don't  try  to  do  for 
awhile.  Let  the  divine  life  of  your  being  float  into 


44  The  House  of  Landell 

every  separate  minute  from  a  centre  of  trustful  rest. 
Don't  be  swung  by  impression,  suggestion  or  open  re 
quest,  into  reading  to  some  old  Mrs.  Kazook,  if  justice 
to  yourself  as  an  instrument  advises  you  to  withhold 
your  hand.  However  true  it  is  that  you  do  not  ask 
help  when  ill  or  exhausted,  it  is  also  true  that  you  make 
a  very  telling  demand  on  the  sympathies  and  concern 
of  those  who  love  you.  Be  strong  enough  not  to  pile 
up  or  dream  obligations  you  have  no  physical  strength 
to  fulfil.  Stop  boiling  an  egg  with  forty  horse  power, 
or  paring  apples  with  a  Damascus  blade." 

"  You  are  incorrigible !  "  Agnes  laughed  despite 
herself. 

"  I  haven't  finished !  Aren't  you  trying  to  follow  a 
rule  of  a  certain  psychologist  to  act  out  your  emotions 
and  express  your  impressions  ?  " 

"  Yes.    I  have  repressed  so  much, —  " 

"  The  cure  must  go  back  of  that.  The  expression 
theory  will  do  for  those  who  have  one  impression  or 
so  a  year.  You  have  a  thousand  a  second.  Your 
imaging  and  constructive  faculties  are  unfolded  far 
beyond  your  strength.  Eliminate  all  in  your  vision- 
ings  you  do  not  desire  to  see  manifest.  Each  instant 
has  its  quota  of  possibilities ;  do  not  overload  it.  Stop 
breaking  your  heart  over  what  you  see,  or  respond 
ing  to  all  demands  made  upon  you.  The  more  I  study 
life,  the  more  I  realize  why  each  person  is  where  he  is; 
little  Kerrick  with  his  wails;  you,  with  your  cata 
clysms  ;  and  the  Great  Christ,  waiting  to  shine  His  light 
into  our  funny,  fussy  ways." 

He  waited  a  moment,  then  with  child-like  sweet 
ness,  added  drolly,  "  Like  the  well-known  advertise 
ment,  '  There's  a  reason.  Look  inside ! ' 

"  I  read  about  annihilation  of  self  until  I  feel  that 
not  to  bear  the  world  on  my  shoulders  is  proof  of 
bestial  selfishness,  and  to  be  ill,  a  public  announcement 


The  House  of  Landell  45 

of  failure.  Self  cannot  be  such  an  awful  thing  since 
we  have  been  given  consciousness  of  it;  and  the  sug- 
gestionists  are  brutal,"  Agnes  continued  to  rage  as  the 
agony  of  self-condemnation  grew  in  her  eyes. 

"  Don't  let  the  suggestionists  worry  you,"  Tom  as 
sured  her.  "  We  undertake  investigation  on  the  basis 
of  what  we  are,  not  of  what  it  is,—\i  you  can  under 
stand  my  English,  for  we  can  comprehend  no  more 
than  we  are  on  the  path  to  becoming.  Many  of  us 
would  have  blood-clots  caused  by  congestion  were  we 
to  follow  the  advice  of  some  writers  and  practitioners 
who  have  only  a  material  conception  of  what  they  at 
tempt  to  teach,  or  are  on  the  horrible  outskirts  of  the 
psychic.  The  average  clergyman  is  obliged  to  verify 
his  philosophy  with  his  tradition,  and  the  average 
physician  starts  his  premises  in  disease.  There  is  much 
more  to  it  all  than  telling  a  patient  he  is  well  when 
he  doesn't  understand  the  entirety  of  that  statement, 
and  which  runs  very  close  to  an  untruth  on  the  lips  of 
many  who  use  the  phrase.  Neither  is  it  enough  to 
*  hold  the  thought.'  Far  worse  is  it  to  be  told  to  re 
press, — the  favorite  word  of  certain  nerve  specialists." 

"  Oh  dear— ' 

"  Don't  say,  '  Oh  dear/  that  way.  Life  is  so  teem 
ing  with  wonders,  I  love  it  and  its  problems.  All  these 
stages  of  growth  from  cell  through  worm  to  man  are 
demonstrated  in  sequence,  through  the  nine  months' 
gestation  of  the  human  embryo,  and  think  what  is  done 
for  us  and  what  we  must  do  for  ourselves  after  we 
get  here!  Does  that  indicate  that  the  purpose  of  life 
is  self-annihilation?  " 

"  Dr.  Brentford's  theory  of  treating  nerves  is  to  im 
press  upon  the  patient  that  he  is  constantly  inferior  to 
his  surroundings." 

"  Select  your  own  visions  and  stand  on  your  own 
platform.  I  don't  wonder  you  are  confused.  At  one 


46  The  House  of  Landell 

and  the  same  time  you  are  mounting  a  rostrum  of 
terror  at  your  incomprehensible  mental  states;  sitting 
with  the  infant  class  lest  you  should  think  you  have 
grown  before  you  have;  clinging  to  tradition  with  one 
part  of  your  brain  and  repudiating  it  with  another; 
giving  when  you  have  no  strength  or  moral  right  to 
do  so ;  trying  to  make  your  feet  fit  footprints  your  head 
refuses  to  let  you  follow." 

"What  must  I  do?" 

"If  messages  from  Infinite  are  jumbled  in  trans 
mission,  the  history  of  the  world  is  changed;  yet, 
many  of  you  philanthropists  have  not  even  settled  on 
your  receiving  station  or  assured  yourself  of  the  re 
cipient's  address." 

"  If  I  seem  uncertain,  it  is  not  so  much  that  I  am 
unassured  of  the  fundamentals,  as  that  I  am  seeking  my 
best.  I  am  not  dissatisfied  with  what  I  find  so  much 
as  determined  to  do  better  next  time, — excepting  when 
I  make  some  of  my  dreadful  mistakes." 

"  Then  you  are  so  remorseful  that  you  incapacitate 
yourself.  I  never  have  seen  one  so  self- forgetful  and 
self-immolating  one  minute  and  so  self-dissecting  the 
next.  If  it  is  not  self-condemnation,  it  is  mental  puz 
zling  that  clouds  the  pictures  that  are  to  bring  you 
joy." 

'Tell  me  what  to  do?" 

"  You  are  a  constant  blessing.  You  stimulate  other 
minds ;  you  give  generously  of  your  own  thought  and 
open  their  minds  to  think  it  too ;  you  are  a  missionary 
of  souls  as  well  as  of  bodies,  constantly  in  the  sweet 
attitude  of  pupil  before  a  teacher;  no  one  I  know  gives 
more  generously  of  all  she  possesses  and  is  more  un 
thinking  of  herself;  no  one  is  more  full  of  joy  until 
exhaustion  breeds  discouragement.  Then  you  go  to 
extremes,  either  of  action  or  inaction,  and  take  all  the 
blame." 


The  House  of  Landell  47 

"  What  a  distress  I  must  be  to  you  all." 

"  I  will  tell  you  the  effect  your  methods  during  your 
last  long  illness  had  upon  the  family.  You  had  read  so 
much  about  the  good  an  invalid  can  do  from  the  sick 
room  that  your  nerves  were  agog  to  prove  the  state 
ment.  The  more  you  tested  it  the  more  intoxicated 
with  the  possibilities  you  became.  You  sent  flowers 
to  every  old  woman  you  could  think  of,  but  never  by 
any  chance,  were  two  in  juxta-proximity.  You  could 
not  pen  a  word  yourself,  but  called  on  every  one  in 
the  house  to  write  to  any  one  you  could  think  of,  whose 
name  sounded  lonesome." 

"  What  a  travesty  on  well-doing.  Preach  more  from 
the  text." 

"Then  here  goes!  Am  I  giving  to  please  myself; 
to  relieve  my  congestion  or  that  of  some  one  else  ?  If 
I  give  in  sheer  nervousness  or  irritability  at  watching 
the  clumsiness  of  others,  am  I  not  deluding  myself  into 
the  belief  that  I  am  generous,  while  really  cheating 
others  out  of  their  legitimate  right  to  do  for  them 
selves  !  " 

"  It  seems  to  me  true  giving  should  help  the  giver 
as  well  as  the  recipient." 

"  So  I  think.  If  it  cause  disappointment  or  deple 
tion  there  is  something  wrong.  Often  it  takes  more 
strength  to  keep  hands  off  others'  lives  than  to  lay  them 
on  for  what  we  suppose  is  blessing.  It  is  a  divine  privi 
lege  to  enter  the  sanctuary  of  other  lives.  Jesus  took 
years  in  preparation  for  what  we  plunge  into  as  a  pas 
time  or  a  diversion." 

"  Why  do  we  believe  it  a  greater  mission  to  help 
others  than  ourselves  ?  Indeed,  how  can  we  serve  other 
lives,  until,  like  Jesus,  we  have  learned  through  service 
to  our  own !  " 

"  It  is  not  fierce  physical  activity  that  induces 
growth,  or  concentration  on  noses  or  crystals,  thereby 


48  The  House  of  Landell 

inhibiting  intelligence  through  exhaustion  of  the 
faculty  of  attentiveness.  Growth  comes  through  train 
ing  the  faculties  to  select  from  our  desires  only  what  is 
worth  perpetuating.  Worth  and  preparation  cooperate 
for  attainment.  Here  we  are  at  home.  Don't  allow 
Matilda  to  tweak  you  about  as  she  chooses.  Good 
bye,  and,  if  you  need  me,  call." 

Agnes  was  a  long  time  preparing  for  the  night.  At 
length  she  put  out  the  light  and  raised  the  shades.  She 
was  by  no  means  satisfied  with  Tom's  deductions, 
though  realizing  their  value. 

"  They  go  such  a  very  little  way,"  she  sighed.  "  Still, 
I  will  follow  his  advice."  Then,  with  the  strange 
swerving  of  decision  so  often  succeeding  her  intro 
spection,  "  At  all  events,  I  shall  go  to  Cousin  Matilda's 
in  the  morning." 

As  she  puzzled,  her  eyes  were  fixed  dreamily  upon  a 
light  beaming  across  field  and  road,  from  a  window 
in  the  hotel  where  Ross  Mevin  was  summering.  The 
light  flashed  higher  for  an  instant,  then  disappeared; 
but,  her  eyes  still  resting  where  the  light  had  cast  its 
rays,  she  continued  to  seek  her  vision  in  the  silence 
of  the  night. 


CHAPTER  V. 

To-day  is  a  message.    Find  it  and  express  it. 

> 

AGNES  woke  with  the  oppressed  feeling  of  a  duty 
not  done.  It  took  but  an  instant  to  trace  the  reason. 
She  was  to  go  to  Cousin  Matilda's.  Her  head  ached 
and  she  needed  the  morning's  rest;  but  she  arose,  and, 
as  it  was  nearly  seven,  rushed  through  her  dressing  and 
hurried  down  the  quiet  streets  to  Matilda  Bolden's 
house.  A  drowsy  maid  informed  her  that  her  cousin 
was  still  asleep.  Uncertain  what  to  do,  she  sat  on  the 
piazza,  trying  to  train  her  irritation  at  least  into 
indifference. 

About  nine  o'clock,  one  of  the  family  servitors, 
whom  Tom  had  likened  to  the  armor  on  the  wall,  an 
nounced  that  Miss  Bolden  would  receive  her.  Mount 
ing  the  stairs,  she  found  her  hostess  enjoying>a  cup  of 
coffee. 

"  Good  morning !  "  She  looked  up  from  the  sugar- 
bowl  she  was  contemplating,  and  greeted  Agnes  with 
the  satisfied  air  of  a  faithful  servant,  who,  having 
chased  to  service  all  recalcitrant  workers  of  the  vine 
yard,  was  now  come  to  her  reward. 

"  How  do  you  do,  Cousin  Matilda,"  Agnes  re 
sponded,  with  a  forced  quality  of  tone  born  of  the 
headache,  the  waiting,  and  the  realization  that  she  had 
been,  weakly,  true  to  Tom's  diagnosis.  "  What  can  I 
do  for  you  ?  " 

"  Nothing  at  all,"  was  the  frigid  response,  "  I  only 
wished  to  see  if  you  held  your  affection  for  me  su 
perior  to  the  claims  of  slumber.  I  have  to  dress  for 

49 


50  The  House  of  Landell 

town,  so  will  ask  you  to  breakfast  alone  down-stairs. 
Good-bye.  Have  a  pleasant  day,"  and  Agnes  found 
herself  as  summarily  dismissed  as  she  had  been  sum 
moned. 

Vexed  as  she  was,  she  could  but  be  amused  at  Ma 
tilda's  generalship,  and,  all  appetite  gone,  she  turned 
toward  home.  As  she  approached  the  hotel,  she  de 
cided  to  call  on  Louise  Lavelle.  She  found  the  piazza 
buzzing  with  mild  excitement  over  a  prospective  picnic, 
and  was  besieged  by  her  special  coterie  to  join  them. 

"  We  don't  start  till  eleven.  Do  come,"  pleaded 
Grace  Herrick. 

"Yes,  Miss  Landell,"  Dr.  Brentford  added  his 
voice  to  the  petition,  "  you  know  it  is  said  of  summer 
hotels  that  they  provide  for  their  guests  nearly  every 
thing  save  rest." 

"  That,  too,  will  be  included,  when  the  demand  for 
it  is  as  great  as  now  exists  for  a  merry-go-round  of 
aimless  excitement,"  returned  Agnes.  "  Now,  we  all 
seem  to  want  to  seat  care  on  the  backs  of  winged 
horses,  hoping  to  lose  it  in  their  reckless  flight." 

"  But  with  unerring  precision,  the  load  is  delivered 
to  us,  unlightened,  after  the  price  has  been  paid  and 
the  circuit  completed,"  concluded  Brentford  pessimis 
tically.  "  However  we  strive  to  evade  the  burden,  at 
the  exit  it  is  returned  to  us,  the  same  old  weight  of 
existence  nothing  can  lessen —  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  Agnes  intensely,  "  it  disappears,  in 
response  to  exalted  purpose !  " 

Dr.  Brentford  stared. 

"Of  course !  I  see  you  are  an  idealist !  That  is 
'  caviare  to  the  general,'  but  it  will  be  one  course  for 
the  picnic,  and  moralizing  is  a  splendid  '  piece  de 
resistance.'  ' 

Suddenly,  Agnes  felt  a  sense  of  desolation  sweep 
over  her.  She  realized  that  she  had  evaded  the  ex- 


The  House  of  Landell  51 

pected  repartee.  With  her  usual  haste  to  condemn 
herself  she  was  overwhelmed  with  her  own  reproach. 
As  the  nearest  escape,  she  agreed  to  join  the  party. 

In  tally-hos  they  passed  down  the  woodland  roads 
to  Mount  Nodel.  Here  they  alighted,  some  to  go  on 
to  the  hilltop,  some  to  gather  mountain  blueberries. 
While  the  sun  was  still  high  they  packed  away  the 
fruit  and  mounted  the  coaches  for  the  homeward  drive. 

Sitting  by  Agnes'  side,  Ross  Mevin  saw  her,  this 
afternoon,  apparently  the  happiest  of  them  all.  She 
was  thoroughly  exhausted  by  the  events  of  the  day  and 
this  forced  her  into  a  false  vivacity.  To  the  observing, 
the  undercurrent  of  her  thought  penetrated  her  bril 
liance  and  gave  an  aloofness  which  alternately  attracted 
and  repelled.  She  it  was  who  had  constantly  suggested 
to  these  amusement  seekers  occupation  for  unappro 
priated  hours,  yet  she  seemed  but  an  onlooker,  vision- 
ing  new  dispensations.  "  My  Lady  of  Moods,"  once 
Mevin  would  have  called  her ;  but  this  wonderful  sum 
mer  was  bringing  him  revelations.  He  was  perceiving 
that  these  changes  in  her  were  of  nobler  growth. 

He  sat  in  delicious  peace,  with  a  happy  sense  of 
walking  with  her  in  the  galleries  of  her  mind,  whose 
treasures,  though  not,  as  yet,  revealed,  were  no  longer 
completely  closed  against  him,  as  they  had  been  but  the 
day  previous.  He  was  only  at  the  entrance,  he  knew.  In 
spirit,  he  moved  with  her  swift  transitions,  at  the  same 
time  puzzled  and  blinded  before  her  slow  readjustment 
to  the  conditions  the  changes  heralded.  In  threading 
his  way  through  unknown  labyrinths,  his  study  of  what 
he  saw  and  his  conjecture  as  to  what  he  might  dis 
cover,  led  his  mind  to  an  afternoon  at  the  Symphony, 
when  Schumann  Heinck  sang.  He  had  sat  in  the  rear 
of  the  hall,  where  the  mellow  light  and  the  distance 
etherialized  the  setting  of  the  singer,  and,  together  with 
his  own  desire,  served  likewise  to  etherialize  the  mes- 


52  The  House  of  Landell 

sage  the  wonderful  voice  was  to  convey.  He  loved 
music  for  the  vast  impersonality  it  unfolded,  and,  the 
more  independently  to  grasp  tone-relationships  that 
should  convey  to  him  only  the  innermost  essence  of  the 
ultimate  idea,  he  tried  always  to  shun  acquaintance  with 
composer,  opus  or  artist. 

That  afternoon  the  singer  presented  a  soil  as  virgin 
to  the  ideal  of  the  message  as  was  possible  in  an  atmos 
phere  always  imbued  more  with  musical  culture  than 
musical  comprehension.  The  pleasant  face,  the  velvet 
gown,  the  hat  with  its  many  plumes  he  saw  not.  The 
spaces  these  had  occupied  grew  luminous  before  him, 
irradiating  white  light  moving  in  spirals,  finally  be 
coming  still.  Stealing  from  out  the  vortex,  evolved 
slowly  the  floating  draperies,  the  white  cowl,  the  sad 
face  of  a  holy  sister. 

Amazed  at  the  transformation,  he  had  been  surprised 
into  asking  one  near  by  the  name  of  the  selection,  for, 
true  to  his  custom,  he  had  refused  a  programme. 

Schubert's  Young  Nun  had  been  forming  before  his 
vision,  through  the  medium  of  the  singer's  thought, 
expressed  through  voice.  As  the  directing  force  was 
withdrawn,  the  vision  faded  slowly.  Again  she  sang. 
Again  he  had  seen  only  radiance;  then  a  form,  sym 
bolic  of  Death  and  the  Maiden,  had  become  manifest, 
held  before  his  eyes  through  the  power  of  her  thought 
concentrated  in  song.  Was  it  a  trick  of  the  optic 
nerve,  he  wondered, — an  obsession,  or  a  veritable  por 
trayal  of  thought- forms  through  the  motive  power  of 
the  singer!  He  felt  sure  it  could  be  attributed  to 
neither. 

Again,  his  mind  centred  in  Agnes,  whom,  after  all, 
it  had  never  left,  since  it  was  in  attempting  to  analyze 
her  that  this  experience  was  recalled.  As  his  heart 
rested  lovingly  upon  her,  he  saw  that  the  very  tex 
ture  of  her  skin  changed  under  the  influence  of  some 


The  House  of  Landell  53 

readjustment.  This  was  verified,  when,  a  moment 
later,  she  turned  and  said, 

"  Will  you  assist  me  to  alight,  Mr.  Mevin  ?  Some 
one  in  that  house  we  are  passing  needs  me." 

"  How  did  you  catch  the  message  ?  "  Dr.  Brentford, 
who  had  overheard,  eyed  her  quizzically.  "  Those 
creosote  shingles  do  not  advertise  necessity.  Your 
quality  of  mercy  must  be  strained  into  Eve's  curiosity 
for  a  glimpse  of  the  interior!  " 

"  Eve's  curiosity  will  ultimately  prove  the  world's 
salvation,"  was  Agnes'  quick  response,  as  she  sprang 
from  the  coach. 

"If  it  is  as  far-reaching  as  that,  by  all  means  run 
along  and  satisfy  it.  Be  sure  to  bring  back  a  woman's 
shopping  bag  of  gossip,"  shivered  Brentford,  in  mock 
nervousness. 

"  Dicky  Brentford,  stop  teasing  Agnes,"  inserted 
Grace  Herrick.  "  Don't  you  know  she  isn't  like  the 
rest  of  us?  If  she  received  a  message  from  the  moon, 
I'd  know  it  came  in  a  perfectly  legitimate  manner. 
What  makes  you  worry  her  ?  " 

"  Because  I  am  interested  in  phenomena,"  retorted 
Brentford,  cynically.  "  How  did  you  get  the  word, 
Miss  Landell?" 

A  troubled  look  crept  into  her  face. 

"  I  cannot  tell." 

Turning,  she  followed  the  path  to  the  vine-arched 
door  of  the  cottage.  The  afternoon  sun  glinted 
through  the  trumpet  vines.  As  she  stepped  onto  the 
piazza,  their  blossoms  framed  her  in  orange,  green  and 
gold.  They  stirred  and  swayed  and,  on  the  gentle 
whisper  of  their  welcome,  came  through  the  open  case 
ment  the  sound  of  a  human  cry, — 

"  Help  me,  God !     I  am  alone,  and  desolate !  " 

Every  fibre  of  Agnes'  being  responded.  Withal, 
supernal  joy  thrilled  her  that  she  had  not  passed  the 


54  The  House  of  Landell 

summons  by.  Following  the  sound,  her  attention  was 
attracted  through  the  window,  unconsciously  noting 
the  veriest  details  of  the  interior.  Even  a  few  dying 
flowers  in  a  vase  upon  a  table  arrested  her  eyes,  as 
adding  to  the  desolation  of  the  scene.  Occupying  a 
large  part  of  the  cottage,  of  quaint  architectural  de 
sign,  was  a  room  of  splendid  proportions,  beautifully 
ceiled,  wainscotted  and  floored  with  old  oak.  Through 
the  chimney  of  the  large  fireplace  the  sunlight  lay  in 
flickering  gold  upon  the  floor.  A  man,  whose  stillness 
resembled  that  of  death,  lay  on  a  bed  of  rare  work 
manship.  Kneeling  beside  him  was  a  woman. 

Absorbing  into  his  very  soul  the  flood  of  gorgeous 
color  glorifying  the  portico,  Mevin  was  wakened  to 
tragedy  by  seeing  Agnes  hasten  past  him  to  the  tally-ho. 

"  Dr.  Brentford,  come  quickly,"  she  sped  the  words 
in  advance  of  her  flying  feet,  "  some  one  is  dying  in 
that  house." 

"I?"  drawled  Brentford,  with  a  long-drawn,  up 
ward  inflection.  "  It  is  true  I  have  learned  to  mix 
pills;  but  that,  by  no  means,  makes  a  traveling  emer 
gency  hospital  of  me,  you  know." 

Agnes  gasped;  but,  as  before,  Grace  came  swiftly  to 
her  rescue. 

"  Aren't  you  ashamed  of  yourself,  Dicky  Brent 
ford!" 

"  Not  at  all !  A  doctor  must  protect  himself  from 
you  ministering  angels  who  load  us  poor  human  don 
keys  with  packs  belonging  on  the  backs  of  others.  You 
would  keep  us  busy  crossing  off  the  charity  lists  you 
make  for  us,  and  so  fill  our  time  caring  for  your  pro 
teges  that  we  must  neglect  our  legitimate  patients." 

"  Your  reproof  is  justified;  but  this  is  something  I 
cannot  do,"  Agnes  returned,  sadly.  "  We  must  call 
on  others  and  do  for  others,  sometimes,  whether  con 
trary  to  our  theories  or  not." 


The  House  of  Landell  55 

"Are  facts  reproofs?"  In  Brentford's  tones  was 
a  mixture  of  badinage  and  bitterness. 

"  The  keenest  of  all,  sometimes.  This  man  may  die 
while  we  bandy  words." 

"  Decency,  if  not  charity,  demands  your  attention 
here,"  Horace  Vernon  interrupted  hotly. 

"  That  for  charity !  "  Brentford  snapped  his  fingers 
contemptuously.  "  No  fee,  no  prescription,  I  say ! 
Isn't  it  time  to  be  on  the  move?  The  soup  will  be 
cold." 

"  Leave  the  fee  to  me,"  conciliatingly,  Mevin  entered 
the  lists.  "  Come  on,  old  fellow,  I  know  you'll  help  if 
we'll  let  you  get  at  it  after  your  own  fashion." 

"  There  you  are  right.  It  is  the  principle  I  look  at 
— that  of  mortgaging  the  vitality  of  others  on  papers 
of  your  own  making." 

Nonchalantly,  he  swung  from  the  coach  and  moved 
toward  the  house. 

Out-distancing  her  companions,  Agnes  reached  the 
house  and,  in  response  to  her  gentle  rap,  the  woman 
she  had  seen  at  the  bedside  stood  before  her. 

"  '  My  son  is  sick !    There  is  no  breath  left  in  him/  ' 
came  from  her  lips  in  quotation,  unconscious  and  so 
natural,  that  Agnes  felt  transported  from  the  rural 
New  England  village  to  the  sorrowing  household  of 
the  widow  of  Zarepath. 

Dr.  Brentford  insisted  that  other  medical  services  be 
obtained,  and,  to  that  end,  Mevin  went  on  to  town, 
leaving  Agnes  and  Mrs.  Lavelle  at  the  cottage.  He 
soon  returned  with  Dr.  Bascombe,  with  whom  Dr. 
Brentford  remained  in  consultation  before  resigning 
the  case  into  his  hands.  A  nurse  was  not  to  be  ob 
tained  till  later  in  the  evening,  so  Mrs.  Lavelle  re 
mained  with  the  exhausted  mother,  and  Agnes,  in  the 
rosy  light  of  the  sunset,  drove  home  with  Mevin. 

He  gathered  the  reins  in  his  hands  and  put  the  horse 


56  The  House  of  Landell 

to  a  gentle  trot  on  the  level  road  that  preceded  the 
steep  descent  some  quarter  of  a  mile  beyond,  while 
the  stillness  about  them  beat  into  his  heart,  in  reiterant 
strain,  the  part  she  must  forever  bear  in  his  life. 

"  I  am  wondering  at,  and  glorying  in,  your  percep 
tion,"  he  said  at  length,  as  in  apology  for  the  silence 
he  did  not  wish  to  break,  so  much  more  closely  than 
words  did  it  bring  them  together. 

"  My  perception !  Then  have  I  gained  ever  so  little 
in  the  Christ-consciousness !  "  There  was  a  new  light 
in  her  face  as  she  turned  to  her  companion. 

"  Tell  me  about  those  people !  "  Not  at  all  under 
standing  her  remark,  he  looked  deep  into  her  eyes, 
longing,  rather,  to  hear  her  voice,  than  to  learn  of  the 
occupants  of  the  house  on  the  hillside.  "  The  mother 
looks  like  a  princess  and  the  son  like  a  vanquished 
Greek  god." 

"  Their  name  is  Herman." 

At  once,  Agnes  plunged  intensely  and  emotionally 
into  the  history  of  the  man  and  woman  whose  disaster 
had  evoked  her  explanation.  "  The  son  is  a  minister 
and  the  illness  a  relapse  of  typhoid." 

As  she  spoke,  the  conditions  in  the  cottage  gripped 
her,  causing  her  to  turn  pale  and  tremble. 

Mevin  was  in  full  and  human  sympathy  with  the 
suffering,  but  it  was  eclipsed  in  his  heart  by  the  su 
preme  delight  of  having  Agnes  by  his  side. 

They  were  high  up  on  the  hillside  and  seemed  to 
float  among  the  clouds.  Entranced  by  the  beauty  about 
her,  her  sympathies  were  merged  for  the  time  in  her 
joy,  as  the  glories  of  nature  rose  supreme.  Her  eyes 
rested  upon  the  changing  phases  of  sun  and  cloud  and 
rosy  light,  while  Mevin's  rested  only  upon  her,  whose 
face  reflected  the  late  afternoon's  glow. 

"  Are  you  a  castle-builder?  "  he  said  softly,  "  I  am." 

Dreamily  he  watched  the  curve  of  her  ear  and  the 


The  House  of  Landell  57 

line  where  the  lustrous  hair  met  the  white  skin  of  her 
neck,  reminding  him  of, — what? 

"  There  is  nothing  to  compare  it  with  for  beauty." 
Thus  meditating,  he  contended  with  his  desire  to  touch 
the  rose-leaf  lobe  of  the  dainty  ear  with  a  lover's  sign 
and  seal. 

"  Indeed  I  am,"  Agnes  was  responding.  "  I  love  to 
study  structure  and  intend  to  build  castles  all  my  life." 

Her  deep  true  eyes  met  his,  unconscious  of  his  adora 
tion. 

"  All  successes  are  the  results  of  well-constructed 
castle  building,"  she  continued,  "  whether  of  the  little 
fruiterer  arranging  his  many-colored  fruits,  or  Phidias, 
dreaming  into  life  the  cold  marble." 

Mevin  scrutinized  her.  Surely  his  manner  indicated 
interest  in  matters  far  more  vital  to  him  than  these! 
Could  it  be  possible  she  did  not  feel  his  adoration  ?  To 
him  it  seemed  "  impanelled  in  fire."  Was  she  pur 
posely  ignoring  it?  Again,  she  was  entrenched  behind 
the  impenetrable  reserve  he  had  encountered  before. 
He  closed  his  lips. 

"  I  am  stupid  enough  in  expressing  my  heart's  de 
sire,  heaven  knows ;  but  the  gayest  Lothario  would  find 
it  difficult  to  tell  this  spirit  of  air  and  fire  and  ice  that 
he  loves  her !  She  is  the  most  impossible  and  the  most 
entrancing  woman  I  have  ever  met.  I  will  speak!  "  he 
soliloquized  indignantly.  "  She  shall  not  always  make 
me  dumb." 

"  I  want  you  to  live  in  the  castle  of  my  life,"  he 
was  saying,  but  mischief  was  playing  with  his  wooing, 
for  as  he  spoke  the  horse  shied.  His  entire  attention 
was  engaged  in  guiding  her  excited  pace;  nor  could 
he  quiet  her,  even  as  he  drew  her  to  a  nervous  stand 
still  under  the  porte  cochere. 

"  I  am  a  cad!  "  he  denounced  himself,  savagely,  as 
he  assisted  his  companion  to  alight.  "  I  am  forcing 


58  The  House  of  Landell 

upon  her  what  she  is  doing  her  best  to  evade.  She  has 
even  made  this  horse  emissary  against  me." 

This  was  strangely  true  though  not  intentional  with 
Agnes.  Conditions  of  fermentation  overwhelmed  her 
when  on  the  verge  of  physical  exhaustion  or  mental 
inharmony,  and  frequently  made  her  suddenly  as  re 
pellent  and  disturbing  to  persons  and  creatures,  as,  at 
other  times,  her  poise  attracted  and  made  her  helpful. 
As  she  watched  Mevin  out  of  sight,  a  drop  fell  on  her 
hand  though  the  sky  was  clear  and  bright. 

Incredible  though  it  seems,  she  had  not  sensed  the 
purport  of  his  words,  nor  realized  that  she  had  re 
ceived  a  proposal  of  marriage  and  turned  it  aside  so 
cavalierly  that  the  ignoring  was  more  final  than  a 
denial.  Suddenly,  she  became  aware  of  the  change 
within  herself  that  had  reached  Mevin  some  time  be 
fore  and  which  he  had  considered  as  a  personal  rebuff. 

Through  the  porte  cochere,  the  hills  could  be  seen 
as  in  a  frame,  looking  down  upon  the  water,  beyond  the 
intervale,  and  below  her,  as  she  stood.  The  wind  had 
risen,  and  was  sending  little  moaning  cries  through  the 
larches  not  far  away.  The  late  shadows  of  the  long 
twilight  were  stealing  onto  the  waters.  She  heard  the 
caressing  murmur  of  the  breeze  as  it  floated  over  the 
hills.  The  black  cloud  of  depression  was  settling  heav 
ily  upon  her — the  aftermath  of  a  day  of  ecstasy — 
of  joy  as  well  as  of  pain.  Only  souls  who  have 
struggled  as  Agnes  had  done  for  years  know  the 
anguish  and  impotence  of  such  moments — when  all 
previous  efforts  seem  futile  and  all  attempts  at  con 
struction  to  result  only  in  tearing  down. 

"  What  holds  me  in  its  grip !  "  she  almost  screamed, 
as,  like  one  crazed,  she  sped  away  from  the  house,  her 
one  thought  and  desire  to  be  alone.  A  terrible  dread 
of  people  overwhelmed  her;  a  loathing  of  the  after 
noon's  merriment;  a  ghastly  acknowledgment  of  the 


The  House  of  Landell  59 

pitiful  uselessness  of  companionship  of  which  one  ex 
pects  so  much  but  receives  so  little.  Her  head  bowed, 
her  chest  sunken,  her  spine  almost  refusing  her  sup 
port,  she  went,  now  swiftly,  as  if  driven  by  the  lash 
of  an  inexorable  taskmaster,  now  lagging,  as  from 
exhaustion. 

"  Why  is  all  I  do  so  futile!  "  she  groaned.  "  Why 
are  my  enthusiasms  succeeded  by  the  depressions  and 
tortures  of  the  damned!  Is  this  wracking  agony  pri 
marily  physical  and  nerve  disturbance,  or  is  my  soul 
struggling  for  expression!  When,  crazed  by  loneli 
ness,  I  long  for  human  companionship,  yet  avoid  it 
as  I  would  a  pestilence ;  yearn  for  friends'  good  morn 
ing,  yet  dread  their  greeting,  is  it  inflammation  of 
nerve  fibre  or  the  growth  of  the  soul's  manifestation! 
Is  it  that  my  soul  wills  to  get  at  me  by  myself  and 
will  not  be  denied !  I  do  not  know !  The  sense  of  my 
inadequacy  terrifies;  my  lack  of  potentiality  appals." 

She  stopped  a  moment,  then  asserted  positively, 

"  It  is  my  soul  striving  to  manifest  and  I  will  be 
equal  to  the  demonstration.  How  superciliously  Dr. 
Brentford  looked  at  me  this  morning  when  I  tried  to 
lift  his  cynicism  into  the  sunshine.  It  was  as  if  I  were 
a  curio  or  a  creature  in  the  Zoo!  And  what  he  said 
this  afternoon !  Every  word  is  truth.  We,  who  ac 
count  ourselves  charitable,  do  make  lists  for  others  to 
minister  to ;  promises  for  others  to  fulfil.  We  call  on 
physicians  to  heal ;  on  musicians  to  amuse  or  to  in 
struct;  on  landlords  to  raise  the  load  of  rent;  and 
consider  that  because  we  have  discovered  the  cases 
we  have  performed  the  charity.  Often  we  insult  those 
who  do  not  put  their  shoulder  to  our  wheel,  because 
they  are  lifting  their  own  out  of  the  sloughs." 

Sjhe  slipped  on  the  hemlock  needles  but,  quickly  re 
covering, 

"  And  I,  tossed  about  by  a  power  I  can  neither  com- 


60  The  House  of  Landell 

prehend  nor  control — erratic,  unbalanced,  clutching  at 
others  to  lay  my  bricks — and  to  fulfil  the  contracts  I 
make — My  God,  dear  God,  help  me  or  I  perish !  " 

When  she  spoke  again,  there  was  a  new  quality  in 
her  voice. 

"  Teach  me  the  balance  of  life,  here  and  now !  Here 
and  now,  or  I  shall  never  find  it!  "  She  clinched  her 
hands  and  held  her  breath. 

She  had  increased  her  pace  almost  to  a  run  during 
this  heart-breaking  outcry;  but  by  degrees,  it  slack 
ened.  The  sunset  still  glowed  in  the  west;  the  soft 
grays  of  the  summer  evening  and  gentle  breeze  that 
twilight  brings  to  the  New  England  woods  and  hills 
played  tenderly  about  her. 

"  Agnes  Landell,  stand  still !  " 

Instinctively,  she  obeyed  her  own  command. 

"Standstill!" 

The  sweet  evening  air  floated  about  her.  Involun 
tarily,  she  inbreathed  its  aroma  and  its  tender  compre 
hension.  With  it,  came  benediction. 

"  Stand  still !  "  she  repeated,  not  peremptorily,  this 
time.  "Close  to  the  heart  of  li-fe;  not  only  believe; 
know  you  are  divine  and  possessed  of  constructive 
power  to  make  your  environment.  Be  willing  not 
to  understand  these  upheavals  within  you.  Leave  it 
to  the  law  of  Growth  to  unfold  it  in  its  own  good 
time.  Breathe  God's  breath  in  the  universe.  Move 
in  harmony  with  Him  who  holds  the  spheres." 

For  a  moment,  she  was  very  still.  Release,  peace, 
pervaded  her.  She  sat  down  on  a  bank  becushioned 
with  hemlock  needles,  drew  from  her  bag  a  note-book 
and  pencil  and  flashed  these  words  to  paper : — 

"Transmute,  transmute,  past  pain  to  present  joy! 
Refute,  refute,  what  doubt  and  strain  alloy ! 
Be  strong,  be  strong,  life's  meaning  to  translate ! 
Be  swift,  be  swift,  to  act  in  God's  estate !  " 


The  House  of  Landell  61 

She  rose,  and  with  these  thoughts  singing  through 
her,  walked  slowly  to  their  rhythm,  until  her  whole 
being  manifested,  in  every  movement,  this  attainment 
of  her  soul's  expression. 

In  her  frenzy,  she  had  walked  fully  a  mile  and  a 
half,  and  now  found  herself  in  one  of  the  most  beau 
tiful  of  the  drives  within  her  father's  parks.  Great 
hemlocks,  shadowed  by  oncoming  t'wilight,  swept  the 
ground,  and  the  conscious  inhaling  of  the  balsamic 
odors  quieted  her  physical  senses.  As  she  grew  calm, 
she  realized  the  approach  of  darkness  and,  moving 
swiftly  out  of  the  shadows  of  the  park  road,  she 
crossed  the  stretch  of  upland,  and  soon  was  traversing 
the  graveled  driveway,  spirit,  soul,  mind  and  body  in 
harmony  with  the  thought  to  which  she  moved. 

"  Bless  that  little  backbone,  so  full  of  achievement! 
You  show,  in  its  every  articulation, .  actual  possession 
of  the  art  of  living!"  A  voice  from  the  verandah 
she  was  approaching,  made  her  peer  into  the  gloom. 
Mrs.  Lavelle  was  awaiting  her,  while  the  sound  of 
wheels  on  the  driveway  was  growing  momentarily 
more  faint. 

"  Louise  Lavelle !  Is  that  you  ?  You  do  not  know 
what  your  words  mean  to  me!  I  left  home  an  hour 
ago,  a  hunted  thing,  feeling  that  my  soul  was  required 
of  me  and  that  I  had  deprived  it  of  life  through  my 
physical  inadequacies." 

She  paused  before  her  friend. 

"  There  in  the  stillness,  alone  in  the  woodlands,  I 
lived  in  God ;  now,  you  tell  me  that  the  cooperation  is 
discernible  to  outer  sense." 

"  Agnes !  "  Tom,  who  had  been  watching  for  his 
sister,  approached  them  from  the  house,  his  manner  in 
dicating  his  ever-bubbling  humor. 

"Come  to  dinner,  this  minute!  If  you  are  going 
to  the  hotel  to-night,  to  tell  those  people  how  to  amuse 


62  The  House  of  Landell 

themselves,  on  the  uncomplimentary  presumption  that 
they  haven't  brains  enough  to  know  how  for  them 
selves,  at  least  reinforce  yourself.  Jupiter,  you  would 
make  a  first-class  manager  of  a  Punch-and-Judy  show. 
Already  you  arrange  the  figures;  you  will  dance  for 
them  next.  You  do  not  obey  my  instructions  worth  a 
cent.  Who  is  that  with  you?"  peering  through  the 
gloom, — "  Mrs.  Lavelle,  how  you  startled  me !  If  there 
are  any  more  mysterious  happenings,  I  shall  be  afraid 
to  trust  the  dark.  First,  Agnes  discovers  a  strange 
house  and  a  tragedy.  Now,  you,  who  were  left  on  the 
bleak  hillside  of  Mount  Nodel,  appear,  without  visible 
means  of  transportation,  at  Daniel  Landell's  mounting 
block!" 

Mrs.  Lavelle  laughed. 

"  You  need  not  institute  psychical  research  on  that 
account.  I  drove  to  town  with  the  driver  who  took 
the  nurse  to  the  Hermans',  and  stopped  here  to  retail 
the  latest  happenings." 

"  Come  in  to  dinner, — oh,  you  look  like  the  rose  of 
Sharon  even  if  you  have  been  picnicing,"  invited 
Agnes.  "  Then,  we'll  go  to  the  hotel  together." 

"  Yes,  Mrs.  Lavelle,"  Tom  continued  his  persiflage, 
as  the  family  entered  the  dining-room  a  few  moments 
later,  "  some  of  those  people  would  die  of  '  innocuous 
desuetude  '  were  it  not  for  Agnes.  There  is  that  little 
Grace  Herrick.  They  say  she  never  puts  on  a  stock 
ing  for  herself,  and,  if  her  maid  should  disappear,  nary 
a  one  would  find  place  on  milady's  foot  until  Mirandy 
reappeared.  She  expects  others  to  put  on  her  mental 
stockings,  too, —  " 

"  I  didn't  have  to  put  on  any  mental  stockings  for 
her  the  day  she  drove  me  into  the  lake,"  laughed  Agnes. 
"  She  has  brains  enough !  " 

"  Then  her  grandmother  and  mother  made  her  put 
them  up  in  camphor  along  with  her  baby  clothes. 


The  House  of  Landell  63 

Maybe,  if  brain  ever  comes  into  style,  she  may  pull 
some  of  hers  out,  along  with  gold  beads  and  coral 
necklaces.  I  return  to  my  diagnosis  of  my  sister's 
methods,  Mrs.  Lavelle.  I  claim  it  is  immoral  for  her 
to  use  her  vitality  in  doing  for  others  what  it  is  their 
business  to  do  for  themselves.  She., is  a  promoter  of 
arrested  development,  and  performs  the  same  office  for 
her  lazy  friends  that  the  police  in  Central  Park  do  for 
the  squirrels.  If  the  bluecoats  don't  appear  with 
provender,  Miss  Squirrel  starves  because  her  house 
keeping  faculties  have  atrophied.  Come,  Miss  Nut 
cracker,  assume  the  responsibilities  of  these  people; 
break  down  with  the  burden  if  you  will;  when  you  do, 
none  will  pity  you.  They  will  only  say,  '  Where  are 
my  nuts!  That  woman  who  always  provides  them  is 
too  much  occupied  with  her  own  affairs,  to  think  of 
me!  Selfish  creature!  I  should  think  she  would  be 
ashamed.' ' 

"  You  are  quite  right,"  laughed  Mrs.  Lavelle,  "  but 
as  I  seem  to  be  one  of  the  squirrels,  do  allow  her  to 
crack  some  nuts  for  us  to-night." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

"  Soon,  however,  the  social  order  takes  its  turn 
in  self-assertion." 

F.  G.  Peabody. 

DINNER  over,  the  three  strolled  through  the  summer 
night  to  the  hotel,  just  as  the  dining-room  was  empty 
ing  on  to  its  piazzas  its  bevies  of  well-gowned  women 
and  heterogeneously  dressed  men.  Grace  Herrick 
spied  the  newcomers  through  the  vista  of  pine  and 
hemlock. 

"  Here  comes  the  Witch  of  Endor,"  she  cried  ex 
citedly.  "  Tell  us,  Agnes,  what  else  do  you  know 
that  the  rest  of  us  cannot  see!  I  declare,  you've 
quite  spoiled  my  appetite  for  dinner  and  we  had  pick 
erel,  too,  fresh  from  the  lake." 

"  What  next  is  to  be  disposed  of  in  your  list  of 
charities,  Miss  Landell?"  Brentford  settled  himself 
effectively  on  a  step  at  Agnes'  feet. 

"  Shuck  it,  Brenty."  Good-naturedly,  Horace  Ver- 
non  pushed  the  young  physician  along  and  sat  beside 
him. 

"  My  friend," — indolently,  Brentford  turned  and 
contemplated  the  speaker — "  you  are  the  individual, 
as  I  recall,  who  repudiated  my  attitude  of  self-preser 
vation,  this  afternoon, — nearly  went  into  kaleidoscopic 
fragments  because  I  challenged  the  methods  of  certain 
good  Samaritans.  You  sat  in  the  seat  of  the  scorn 
ful  and  squabbled;  but  I  notice  that  not  one  finger  of 
your  magnificent  hulk  have  you  stirred  toward  doing 
anything.  You  did  not  clamber  laboriously  down  from 

64 


The  House  of  Landell  65 

the  dizzy  heights  of  yonder  tally-ho  at  the  risk  of  dis 
locating  legs  and  arms;  you  did  not,  after  accom 
plishing  a  perilous  descent,  drag  your  weary  anatomy 
up  the  path,— 

"  Cut  it,  Brentford,  one  would  think  you  a  brute, 
instead  of  a  very  fine  fellow,"  said  Mevin,  who  had 
taken  his  stand  behind  Agnes. 

"  Dr.  Brentford  is  right."  Vehemently,  Agnes  ex 
pressed  her  opinion.  "  I  wish  publicly  to  apologize 
for  dragging  him  into  an  unwilling  service.  We  are 
told  to  bear  one  another's  burdens;  but  that  may  not 
mean  that  we  transfer  our  own,  as  I  did,  to  other  shoul 
ders." 

"  You  cannot  be  a  member  in  good  and  regular 
standing,  Miss  Landell,  or  you  never  would  be  so  gen 
erous.  The  methods  of  the  usual  charity-monger  are 
drastic.  She  exacts  the  pound  of  flesh  and  doesn't  no 
tice  if  the  victim  squeals  while  losing  it." 

"  Don't  mind  what  Brentford  says."  Mevin  twisted 
a  bit  of  paper  and  threw  it  at  the  handsome  physician, 
perceiving  that  Agnes  was  unaccustomed  to  the  fashion 
of  thrusting  truth  into  the  tube  of  jest  and  eject 
ing  it  on  to  the  palette  of  repartee.  "  The  pound  of 
flesh  he  gave  in  ministering  to  that  Greek  god  on  the 
hill,  had  none  of  his  blood  in  it,  rest  assured." 

"  Is  he  handsome?  "  Attracted  by  Mevin's  words, 
Grace  Herrick  bobbed  up  and  down  excitedly,  in  a 
manner  peculiarly  her  own.  '  Tell  us,  Mr.  Mevin ! 
That  horrid  Dicky  Brentford  will  do  nothing  but  jeer. 
If  he  means  what  he  says,  he  shows  very  bad  taste; 
if  he  does  not,  he  shows  worse." 

"  I  do  mean  it,"  said  Brentford,  testily.  "  I  despise 
charity  and  all  its  concomitants.  Bah !  I  know  what 
I'm  talking  about!  The  best  parlors  of  my  various 
aunts  and  uncles  were  decorated  with  certificates  of 
membership  to  philanthropic  societies ;  but  I  know  very 


66  The  House  of  Landell 

well  they  indulged  in  the  sweating  process  toward  their 
washerwomen." 

"  Have  a  memory  for  pleasanter  things,  pessimist." 

"  That's  all  very  well,  Mevin ;  but  a  doughnut  has  a 
hole  as  well  as  that  which  is  edible." 

"  Not  the  '  sort  my  mother  makes,'  "  laughed  Ver- 
non,  "  she  has  crullers  and  cuts  out  the  hole." 

"  In  that  case,  you  are  not  obliged  to  think  as  I  do. 
To  return  to  my  theme,  which  I  consider  most  illu 
minating, — The  most  charitable  person  I  know — with 
others'  time  and  money — borrows  my  carefully  anno 
tated  books  ( or  takes  them  from  my  office  without  per 
mission)  and  refuses  to  return  them,  because  she  likes 
the  notes,  no  matter  how  I  plead  their  importance  to 
myself.  She  will  send  me  new  copies,  she  tells  me, 
but  not  mine!  She  borrows  every  book  she  reads, 
though  amply  able  to  buy,  and  baptizes  it  with  sand 
wiches  or  toffee  as  is  most  convenient.  She  declares 
that  morality  will  not  save,  so  I  suppose  she  considers 
the  practice  of  it  in  daily  matters  unnecessary.  Yes, 
Miss  Herrick,  Herman  is  a  stunning  looking  fellow. 
Lucky  for  you,  Vernon,  that  he  is  out  of  the  running 
at  present.  I  wouldn't  answer  for  Miss  Herrick's  keep 
ing  her  engagement  with  you  if  she  had  seen  him —  " 

"  Is  he  poor?  Is  he  going  to  get  well?"  Grace's 
excitement  grew  more  keen. 

"  Poor !  They  look  like  silver  kings  trying  the  simple 
life.  Is  he  going  to  get  well?  Ask  Miss  Landell. 
She  is  the  one  who  looks  into  the  future." 

"  Yes,  they  are  poor,"  sighed  Agnes.  "  I  want  to 
suggest  some  means  of  helping  them,  but  hesitate  be 
fore  the  truth,  Dr.  Brentford— 

"  Me  ?  Oh,  my  remarks  are  not  personal.  They  are 
general  diatribes  directed  toward  the  Hydra,  Charity, 
with  its  millions  of  leeching  arms!  Tell  us  your 


The  House  of  Landell  67 

scheme.  It  is  sure  to  bring  us  pleasure  and  that  is  the 
sole  aim  of  life." 

"  What  do  you  think  of  holding  a  festival  in  the 
dining-hall.  We  picked  a  good  deal  of  fruit  this  af 
ternoon.  Perhaps  the  preserve-makers  in  ,the  village 
may  as  willingly  buy  of  us  as  of  the  berry-pickers,— 

"  And  the  small  boys  of  the  town,  who,  for  weeks, 
depend  on  berry-picking  to  help  the  pot  boil,  will  find 
themselves  robbed  of  custom  and  decide  they  might 
as  well  become  hoboes  as  workmen,  if  to  charity  is  to 
belong  the  spoils." 

"  You  make  my  heart  ache,  all  you  say  is  so  true !  " 
sighed  Agnes. 

"  Dicky  Brentford,  stop  making  Agnes  unhappy, 
and  thank  your  stars  for  something  to  do  in  this  sleepy 
place."  Grace  was  all  interest.  "  She  can't  help  it 
because  Peter  and  Paul  are  always  robbing  each  other. 
I  don't  know  why  we  need  worry.  If  Peter  isn't  the 
thief,  Paul  is  sure  to  be,  and  Paul  is  only  waiting  his 
chance  to  go  Peter  one  better.  Let's  have  the  festival." 

"  I  second  the  motion,  because  I  shall  get  some  fun 
out  of  it,  which  statement  is  honest  if  not  charitable. 
Truly,  it  is  a  strange  situation,  that  of  those  two  splen 
did  looking  specimens  of  humanity  destitute  on  a 
lonely  hillside,  in  a  house  which  looks  more  like  a  mil 
lionaire's  shooting  box  than  a  poor  farm." 

"  There  must  be  something  more  juicy  than  huckle 
berries  to  insure  success,"  said  Grace  Herrick's  fiance. 

"Of  course,  Horace.  We  must  have  something 
stunning."  Again  Grace  bobbed  up  and  down  with 
her  funny  little  excitable  movement.  "  I  know, — 
Agnes — give  us  that  wonderful  evening  of  yours, — 
you  know — that  you  were  reciting  to  me  the  other  day, 
— Judith !  You  are  positively  great  in  that  dance  you 
make  her  give  before  Holofernes.  Do!  " 

In  an  instant,  there  was  a  hubbub  of  entreaty. 


68  The  House  of  Landell 

At  first,  impressed  in  her  own  mind,  that,  under  ex 
isting  circumstances  she  should  not  give  the  strength 
she  knew  she  did  not  possess,  and  shrinking  from  the 
incongruity  of  presenting  the  interpretation  in  connec 
tion  with  a  dance  and  festival,  the  babel  of  voices  over 
whelmed  her  intelligence  and  inhibited  it  with  the  con 
fusion  that  ensued.  Her  mentality  began  to  toss  its 
shuttle  to  and  fro  in  the  warp  and  woof  of  others'  opin 
ions  and  the  threads  became  hopelessly  entangled. 
Though  she  seemed  outwardly  composed,  this  mental 
condition  was  quickly  sensed  by  the  importuners.  They 
brought  more  threads  of  entreaty  to  the  factory  of  her 
mind  and  the  whirring  of  the  vari-sized  spindles  of  in 
decision  grew  more  confounding.  Only  Mevin  stood 
apart,  silent. 

"Of  course  you  will!  You  never  refuse  to  do  any 
thing  for  the  good  of  others !  "  insisted  Grace. 

"  I  would  give  Judith,—  Her  eyes  filled  with 
tears  which  she  smiled  bravely  away.  "  You  know 
Alicia  always  did  the  singing, — the  oratorio  part, — 
while  I  did  the  dramatic  part." 

"  Do  it,  Agnes !  Just  because  some  one  has  died, 
you  can't  shut  yourself  up  behind  that  for  the  rest  of 
your  life." 

The  very  lack  of  sentiment  made  Grace's  thrust  en 
durable.  It  cut  Agnes  to  the  heart  but  left  upon  her 
mind  only  the  thought  of  Grace's  crudity,  which  ap 
pealed  to  her  keen  sense  of  humor  and  deflected  the 
attack. 

"  It  will  make  you  feel  so  happy  to  know  you  are 
doing  for  others,"  said  Bernice  Holbrook,  who, 
throughout  the  conversation  had  sat  rocking  languor 
ously. 

"  You  are  quite  right,"  responded  Agnes.  "  I  have 
kept  in  practice  and  I  should  do  it.  It  will  need  the 
music.  I  can  arrange  for  the  instrumental  part.  Mv 


The  House  of  Landell  69 

pianist  is  a  busy  man;  but  I  will  pay  him  well, — but, — 
the  singing, —  " 

"  Do  it  yourself,  Agnes.  There  are  only  three  se 
lections,  as  I  recall  the  presentation, — that  magnificent, 
'Upon  the  Ramparts  of  Bethulia',  and  the  lullaby,  and 
the  oratorio  aria  with  recitative,  fHo  Ye  Upon  the 
Walls.' ' 

"  It  isn't  the  quantity,  it's  the  quality,"  said  Agnes, 
wanly.  "  If  I  do  it,  it  won't  be  like  Alicia.  I  have  no 
such  singing  voice.  She  was  wonderful.  I  can  sing  it 
after  a  fashion;  but  it  won't  be  divine.  She  was  di 
vine." 

"  You  are  superb  in  the  oratory,  Miss  Landell,  and, 
be  assured,  far  better  in  song  than  you  yourself  be 
lieve,"  said  Mevin,  breaking  his  silence. 

"  I  can't  imagine  you  other  than  divine  in  anything 
you  undertake.  Certainly,  if  you  can  pierce  creosote 
shingles  to  see  things,  you  can  troll  out  notes  to  hypno 
tize  angels,  to  say  nothing  of  a  Beneby  audience,"  said 
Dr.  Brentford. 

"  Then  I  will  undertake  it.  I  have  sung  the  selec 
tions  often,  at  home, — since  Alicia  died, — couldn't," 
she  changed  the  word  hastily.  "  There  will  be  so  little 
time  to  advertise,  I  will  see  what  I  can  do,  now,  by 
telephone." 

"  A  personal  appeal,  by  all  means,"  Brentford  con 
tinued  his  ironical  repartee. 

"  Oh,  oh,"  groaned  Tom.  "  If  that  is  your  plan, 
get  at  it  at  once,  and  then  come  on  home  to  rest  up 
for  the  ordeal." 

"Obeying  your  brother!"  Brentford's  voice  fol 
lowed  Agnes  to  the  telephone.  "  Yet,  liberty  is  ele 
vated  aloft  in  the  guise  of  a  woman." 

"  A  correct  one  in  this  case,"  and  Agnes,  sparkling 
with  the  elation  wakened  at  the  thought  of  personal 
endeavor,  together  with  a  sort  of  sacrificial  ecstasy, 


7o  The  House  of  Landell 

because  she  was  to  be  of  service,  gave  her  Roland  for 
Brentford's  Oliver  in  a  manner  positively  entrancing : 
"  Liberty  never  oppresses  individuals  and  I  see  that 
Tom  really  wants  to  go." 

"  It  is  only  fair  to  admit  that  woman  is  a  goddess, 
since  the  House  of  Lords  has  decreed  she  is  not  a 
person,"  was  Brentford's  parting  shot. 

After  some  effective  telephoning,  Mevin  conducted 
Agnes  to  the  foot  of  the  steps,  feeling  his  way  toward 
walking  home  with  her.  At  first,  he  had  feared  lest  the 
events  of  the  afternoon  should  affect  the  ease  of  their 
relations;  but  so  oblivious  had  she  been  to  his  love- 
making  that  he  found  not  an  eddy  in  the  smoothness 
of  their  intercourse;  and  he  vowed,  inwardly,  that,  as 
far  as  he  was  concerned,  so  should  it  remain,  until  he 
could  see  broad  plains  of  assurance  whence,  in  loving 
measure,  might  flow  the  waters  of  their  friendship, 
rising  above  the  banks  of  simple  comradeship,  and 
moving  steadily  on  to  the  all-including  ocean  of  love. 

Meanwhile,  Tom  had  walked  ahead,  and  together 
Agnes  and  Mevin  went  down  the  long,  silent  avenue, 
redolent  with  pines  and  the  soft  dews  of  evening. 

"  How  bitter  Brentford  is!  " 

Mevin  broke  the  silence  as  they  entered  the  main 
road  leading  to  the  Landells'.  "  I  wonder  what  tragedy 
lurks  behind  it!  Were  there  not  an  inherent  fineness 
in  the  man,  he  would  be  insufferable." 

"  Every  word  he  says  is  true  from  one  aspect,"  said 
Agnes,  vehemently.  "  Practised  without  regard  to  the 
inevitable  law  of  compensation,  charity  is  a  big  leech, 
and  I  am  one  of  its  jaws.  Suddenly,  I  decide  I  should 
act  for  the  good  of  others.  When  I  get  into  more  than 
I  can  manage,  some  one,  with  hands  already  full,  has 
to  come  to  my  rescue.  My  mother  taught  me  better 
than  that;  but  I  fail  to  act  on  her  teachings,  and  fall 
back  on  my  own  emotionalism  and  Aunt  Luella's  train- 


The  House  of  Landell  71 

ing,  that  we  are  very  much  like  food  thrown  to  beasts, 
to  be  torn  asunder  for  others'  needs  or  pleasure." 

"  What  did  your  mother  teach  you?  "  As  he  looked 
into  her  deep,  true,  earnest  eyes  Mevin  could  ngt,  try 
as  he  would,  keep  the  tenderness  from  stealing  into  his 
tones. 

"  Some  one  asked  me  if  she  would  give  a  cake  to  a 
charitable  festival.  All  enthusiasm,  I  replied  in  the 
affirmative.  What  was  my  distress  when,  instead  of 
giving  me  the  cake,  she  made  me  report  that  I  had 
no  right  to  make  obligations  for  others  and  for  that 
reason  the  cake  was  not  to  be  forthcoming." 

"  A  severe  lesson  for  a  little  girl." 

"  A  good  one.  If  only,  I  would  apply  it  constantly, 
instead  of  intermittently.  My  childhood's  teachings 
were  a  strange  medley  and  my  attempts  to  relate  them 
have  been  the  puzzle  of  my  life.  Through  my  aunt,  I 
read  in  the  law  that  we  are  worms  of  the  dust,  our  sal 
vation  depending  on  our  utter  helplessness  and  an  atti 
tude  of  holding  our  mouths  open  like  young  sparrows 
for  the  Most  Generous  God  to  throw  down  food  ac 
cording  to  His  gracious  pleasure;  the  next  moment, 
my  mother  taught  me  that  a  man  reaps  exactly  what 
he  sows,  and  is  morally  accountable  to  himself  and 
those  about  him  for  every  move  he  makes.  Only 
recently  has  come  to  me  the  revelation  that  life  con 
stantly  manifests  in  growth  and  that  the  spark  of  deity 
within  us  is  the  life  that  grows  to  its  own  prototype." 

Mevin  meditated.  He  wanted  to  discuss  the  ques 
tion  ;  but  more,  did  he  wish  to  hear  her  talk,  so  instead 
he  questioned  her. 

"  Why  has  the  struggle  been  so  great  ?  You  seem 
to  have  so  much  to  make  you  happy." 

"  In  order  to  help,  I  have  trained  myself  to  suffer 
with  those  who  suffer." 

"  Is  not  that  morbid  ?  " 


72  The  House  of  Landell 

A  quality  of  tender  protectiveness  softened  the 
words  and  reduced  within  her  the  sense  of  torture  she 
was  beginning  to  feel  as  she  entered  into  the  spirit  of 
her  recital. 

"  I  do  not  know.  I  believe  it  is  necessary  to  the  un 
derstanding  of  humanity.  I  feel  that  until  I  quiver 
with  every  heart  I  shall  be  made  to  suffer.  I  had  two 
little  brothers  and  a  baby  sister  whom  I  dearly  loved. 
They  died,  so  my  Aunt  Luella  told  me.  Oh,  if  they 
had  only  taken  me  out  in  the  little  canoe,  on  the  still 
waters,  under  the  blue  of  the  heavens ;  moving,  almost 
without  motion,  through  green  pastures,  and  let  me 
lie  there,  looking  into  the  life  of  the  waters,  the  life  of 
the  sky,  the  life  of  the  trees,  then,  little  by  little,  the 
heart  of  life  would  have  beat,  steadily  and  sturdily, 
into  my  numbed  and  frightened  heart,  and  won  it  into 
a  larger  life  than  I  had  ever  known  before.  I  should 
have  gone  home,  and  gone  on  in  life,  awake  to  the 
truth  that  the  babies  were  not  dead,  but  more  alive  and 
closer  to  the  aspirations  and  the  heart  of  me,  than 
they  were  before." 

"  Did  not  your  father  and  mother  teach  you  this  ? 
They  seem  like  ones  who  would." 

"  My  mother  was  dangerously  ill  at  this  crucial  time 
in  my  life.  I  was  placed  with  my  Aunt  Luella — at  first 
I  seemed  in  no  one's  care  at  all.  While  my  father  was 
hovering  over  the  seeming  death-bed  of  my  mother, 
and  Tom  and  Alicia  were  removed  from  the  scene  by 
neighbors,  I  was  wandering  about  the  house  seeking 
for  an  opportunity  to  help  in  what  I  knew  to  be  a  tragic 
situation.  I  was  seeking  for  the  little  ones.  They  had 
taken  them  away  and  I  could  not  find  them. 

"  Puzzled  at  the  strange,  hushed  bustle,  so  unlike 
the  usual  atmosphere  of  the  home,  I  came  to  the  east 
guest  chamber.  Its  door  was  not  quite  closed  and  I 
pushed  it  open  and  entered, — oh, —  "  she  staggered; 


The  House  of  Landell  73 

but  was  upheld  by  Mevin's  supporting  arm.  "  There 
were  the  babies,  stark  and  unclothed, — surrounded — 
by  men — at  the  embalmer's  trade.  It  was  instilled  into 
me  in  horror,  and  distilled  into  my  life  in  consterna 
tion." 

Mevin  clasped  her  hand.  His  strength  upheld  her. 
She  went  on. 

"  I  did  not  cry.  I  knew  my  mother's  life  depended 
upon  quiet.  I  spoke  to  no  one.  I  never  have  spoken, 
and  never  intended  to  speak;  but  you,  in  your  sym 
pathy — and  thinking  of  Alicia, — oh,  how  can  I  go  on 
to-morrow  night  without  Alicia, — you  know, — the  sis 
ter, — who  died  two  years  ago?" 

"  I  know,"  he  replied,  tenderly.  "  When  you  think 
of  her,  and  the  babies,  can  you  not  remember  just  what 
you  have  told  me  you  longed  to  have  said  to  you? 
Know  you  would  not  think  about  them  unless  the  souls 
of  them  were  thinking  of  the  soul  of  you.  Instead  of 
sinking  under  the  weight  of  loss  and  separation,  think, 
at  once,  '  Here  are  my  loved  ones  speaking  to  the  soul 
of  me.  What  matter  if  I  do  not  see  them  with  these 
eyes  that  see,  after  all,  so  crudely.  I  can  know  they 
are  with  me  in  thought  and  in  aspiration.  I  can  be 
sure  that  their  beautiful  embodiments  are  .fitting  gar 
ments  for  the  qualities  they  possess  and  express.' ' 

"  So  uniting  the  unseen  with  the  seen  in  every  ten 
derness  I  can  bestow  on  those  about  me?"  She 
stopped  and  looked  at  him  with  beseeching  questioning. 

"  Yes.  Daily,  there  will  come  to  you  more  clearly 
the  knowledge  that  their  souls  are  responding  to  and 
encouraging  yours.  Establish  the  habit  of  realizing 
this  unity  of  life,  even  as  you  believe  it.  Let  all  speak 
to  you  of  a  greater  life.  Never  think  of  them  as  dead." 

Agnes  turned  and  looked  at  him  earnestly  and  rever 
ently. 

"  You ! "     She  paused  upon  the  word  with  tender 


74  The  House  of  Landell 

sweetness.  "  You !  A  man  who  does  not  believe  in 
prayer?  Oh,  no!  Your  words,  you,  yourself,  disprove 
the  statement." 

"  I  ?  Oh,  I've  followed  pretty  much  my  own  plan 
since  I  was  ten  years  old,  when  with  clenched  fists  and 
choking  throat,  I  listened  to  the  description  of  a  God 
of  vengeance,  who,  in  infinite  justice  and  mercy,  re 
pented  the  wholesale  condemnation  of  which  He  had 
been  guilty, — which  is  nothing  less  than  the  anger  we 
are  blamed  for  exhibiting,  when  things  do  not  go  our 
way.  Then,  He  sent  His  Only  Begotten  Son, — for,  by 
this  time,  He  had  even  disavowed  having  any  other 
children — excepting  by  adoption — to  be  scourged  and 
crucified  as  a  penalty  for  something  He  had  not  done. 
This  enabled  some  of  the  outcasts  to  return,  relieved 
of  the  consequences — not  of  what  they  had  elected  to 
do,  but  what  they  had  been  forced  into.  I  had  con 
vulsions  that  night.  The  doctor  said  it  was  from  eat 
ing  green  apples.  Faugh !  It  was  from  terror  and  in 
dignation." 

"  I  have  had  convulsions,  too,"  said  Agnes  gently. 
"  But  such  statements  seem  so  palpably  the  results  of 
sleeping  consciousness,  that  I  have  not  repudiated,  I 
have  prayed,  nightly — ceaselessly — for  light,  more 
light." 

"  I  have  been  shy  of  avowed  love  and  mercy  ever 
since,  and  have  cut  loose  from  things  religious,  pretty 
much.  It  is  an  easy  thing  He  did,"  he  continued  bit 
terly.  "  He  followed  one  injustice  with  a  worse  one. 
He  loved!  so  hard  He  sacrificed  a  loved  one.  Why? 
According  to  the  pulpits,  it  was  a  sop  to  the  Cerberus 
of  his  own  remorse.  He  was  sorry!  As  if  that  ever 
corrected  anything!  It  is  the  same  idea  of  love  as 
the  cellular  attraction,  rampant  among  those  men  and 
women  who,  under  its  name,  tumble  children  into  the 


The  House  of  Landell  75 

world  to  suffer.  Love !  Four  letters !  I  beg  your  par 
don  !  Can  you  ever  forgive  me  ?  " 

"  We  are  of  a  God-race,  seeking  our  heritage,  Truth, 
Mr.  Mevin."  She  looked  at  him  with  angelic  woman 
liness.  "  Where  shall  we  find  nobler  help  than  reverent 
searching,  women  with  men.  Yes,  until  this  awaken 
ing  age,  lust  is  the  conception  the  world  has  had  of 
love ;  but  search  the  Bible ;  watch  the  evolution  of  his 
tory,  see  therein  how  the  essence  of  love  nourishes  our 
understanding.  As  we  move  out  of  ancient  forms  of 
religion,  may  we  grow  in  appreciation  of  its  reality. 
Such  men  as  you  are  needed  to  reveal  it  to  the  world." 

"  I  must  manifest  what  I  am,  whether  I  intend  to 
or  not.  As  for  charity,"  after  a  moment's  pondering, 
reverting  to  the  original  topic,  "  '  Charity  should  mean 
justice  instead  of  generosity;  work,  instead  of  alms.* 
It  always  puzzles  me,  though,  when  I  see  a  case  like 
these  proteges  of  yours.  How  it  must  cut  them  to 
the  heart  to  be  thus  publicly  advertised." 

The  comradeship  with  which  Agnes  had  entered  with 
him  upon  the  mighty  matters  of  life  was  suddenly  ob 
scured.  An  impenetrable  reserve  encased  her. 
Though  she  continued  to  talk,  no  longer  was  there 
communion. 

Wounded  by  the  seeming  fickleness  of  this  woman 
whom  he  believed  to  be  superior  to  coquetry,  Mevin's 
replies  became  platitudes.  He  was  not  sorry  to  leave 
her,  and  by  himself  to  puzzle  over  the  mystery  of  her 
powerful  attraction  and  repulsion. 

When  Agnes  entered  the  library,  she  found  Tom 
poring  over  a  heavy  volume.  He  looked  up  with  a 
comical  expression. 

"  Have  you  heard  from  your  rhetoric  queen?  You 
look  as  if  you  had." 

"  No,  and,  as  next  best,  I'm  studying  her  habitat  in 
the  Gazetteer.  What  is  the  matter?  You  look  as  if 


76  The  House  of  Landell 

you  had  committed  murder!  When  I  left  you,  you 
were  as  happy  as  a  bird." 

"  What  have  I  done ! "  Agnes  sank  into  a  chair 
and  covered  her  face  with  her  hands.  "  What  have  I 
done!" 

"  Just  what  I  want  to  know." 

"  I  have  dragged  those  gentlepeople  into  the  lime 
light.  As  I  now  see  it,  the  whole  story  could  have 
been  kept  within  the  knowledge  of  the  few." 

"  You  are  working  yourself  into  one  of  your  attacks. 
If  you  wish  to  do  as  badly  or  worse  next  time,  poison 
your  blood,  muddle  your  brain  and  wrack  your  nerves 
with  that  fiendish  pill,  self-condemnation.  Truth  is 
never  recognized  by  a  puzzled  brain." 

"  Why  do  I  make  such  a  mix-up  when  I  trv  to  be 
kind!" 

"  You  try  too  confounded  hard  to  include  everybody. 
You  remind  me  of  a  woman  who,  to  support  another 
one,  bought  home-made  wines  of  her  and  sent  them 
to  a  family  of  topers  the  town  was  trying  to  reclaim." 

"What  can  I  do!" 

"  The  one  who  works  the  threads  of  helpfulness 
through  other  lives,  needs  the  strong  bodkin  of  com 
mon  sense  to  pull  them  through,  successfully.  You 
have  lots  of  supersense;  but  I  sometimes  think  it  would 
pay  you  to  lay  it  aside  and  just  be  ordinary.  See  what 
you  can  with  your  eyes  and  no  more, —  " 

"What  eyes?" 

"  You  have  asked  me  that  before.  These  eyes ! 
Not  one  in  the  middle  of  the  skull  or  back  in  the  brain. 
I  tell  you,  you  are  treading  on  dangerous  ground,  try 
ing  to  grasp  so  much  truth.  You  don't  know  how 
comfortable  it  is  to  be  commonplace.  It  relieves  one 
of  an  awful  pressure.  What  earthly  reason  had  you 
to  draw  the  thread  of  your  helpfulness  to  the  Her 
mans,  through  the  plan  of  entertaining  those  hotel 


The  House  of  Landell  77 

people,  especially  by  undertaking  that  tremendous 
Judith  ?  It  seems  to  me  that  the  crux  of  the  matter  is 
that  you  allow  others  to  make  your  decisions  for 
you- 

"  It  looks  so  obstinate — 

"  Obstinate  or  not,  I  should  refuse  to  do  what  is 
not  traceable  to  your  own  intelligence.  Even  if  good 
ones,  the  ideas  of  others  should  not  be  entertained  until 
the  suggestion  is  subjected  to  your  own  decision. 
Good  nature  or  indecision  are  easy  paths  to  the  horrors 
of  possession  by  others  of  our  integrity,  and  even  to 
the  terrors  of  hypnotism.  Don't  dear,  put  on  that 
look  of  '  Thy  will  be  done,'  as  if  it  were  to  be  the 
worst  possible!  Are  you  going  to  have  an  attack, 
Cherum,  Cheree  ?  " 

"  I  think  not.  I  am  improving, — do  say  you  think 
I  am !  I  have  so  long  supposed  I  ought  to  do  for 
everybody,  and  condemned  myself,  even  if  I  find  noth 
ing  to  condemn  myself  for,  that  '  I  have  the  habit.'  I 
hope  Mattee  Sue  will  answer  your  letter,  and  that  you 
will  always  win  your  heart's  desire,  not  because  you 
are  more  fortunate  than  some;  but  because  of  your 
well-directed  conscious  choice." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

With  my  heart's  blood  I  write  my  life's  song; 

And  because  it  is  my  heart's  blood,  there  is  life  in 

my  song; 

And  because  there  is  life  in  my  song 
Behold,  there  is  new  blood  in  my  heart; 
For  I  live  anew  in  the  giving  forth  of  life. 

THE  next  morning  found  Agnes  practising  her  part 
for  the  evening.  Hearing  his  sister's  clear  and  beauti 
ful  voice,  Tom  came  to  the  door  of  the  music-room. 

"  I  know  I  should  not  practise  the  day  I  am  to  ap 
pear;  but  I  must,  just  a  little,"  she  said,  apologetically. 
"  I  am  going  to  rest  afterwards.  I  shall  run  down  to 
the  village  and  urge  the  people  to  swell  the  fund.  I 
must  put  the  case  strongly  to  get  anything,  you  know. 
Then  I  shall  take  a  look — only  a  look — at  Cousin  Ma 
tilda.  She  disturbed  me  again  last  night.  My  physical 
presence  seems  to  worry  her;  but  she  keeps  my  room 
fairly  buzzing  with  her  mental  activity.  If  only  my 
going  to  her  did  some  good !  But  no,  she  seems  to 
cling  to  me  with  her  mind  and  to  care  practically  noth 
ing  about  me  after  she  gets  me  within  physical  reach. 
I  don't  understand." 

Tom  looked  thoughtful  and  went  to  his  train. 

In  a  short  time,  Agnes  left  the  house.  After  she 
had  spread  her  news  to  her  satisfaction  she  was  thor 
oughly  exhausted;  but,  true  to  her  promise,  she  went 
to  Miss  Bolden's. 

"  I  am  so  glad  to  see  you,"  Cousin  Matilda  greeted 
her  visitor  benignly,  "  I  have  been  looking  for  you  all 

78 


The  House  of  Landell  79 

the  morning.  To  us  who  rise  with  the  dawn,  this  hour 
of  the  forenoon  seems  nearly  nightfall,  when  no  man 
works.  Still,  I  felt  sure  that  if  I  waited  long  enough, 
you  would  drop  in.  I  wish  you  to  remain  to  luncheon 
with  me,  then  we  will — 

"  I  am  so  sorry ;  but  I  cannot,  this  afternoon.  You 
see,  we  are  to  have  this  big  entertainment  in  aid  of 
the —  "  and  she  poured  forth  the  tale  of  the  Hermans' 
disasters  to  which  Miss  Bolden  listened  with  keen  in 
terest.  "  Now  I  will  run  on.  I  have  several  matters 
to  attend  to,  and  I  must  give  at  least  an  hour  to  my 
toilette— 

"  I  notice,"  was  the  curt  response,  "  that  you  are 
growing  altogether  too  fond  of  dress.  Were  I  you, 
I  would  curb  that  vanity." 

"  Why,  Cousin  Matilda,  last  winter  you  fairly 
scolded  me  for  paying  so  little  attention  to  my  personal 
appearance,"  was  Agnes'  response,  in  hurt  surprise. 
"  Since  then,  I  have  tried  to  reform." 

"  That  is  quite  right — I  hope  I  shall  have  the  pleas 
ure  of  hearing  you,  to-night.  Of  course,  if  you  will 
make  so  many  engagements  that  you  can  spare  me  no 
time,  I  must,  I  suppose,  submit." 

"  Father  will  send  the  car  for  you  early."  Bidding 
Matilda  good-bye,  Agnes,  her  vitality  oozing  from  her 
as  a  result  of  this  acrid  conversation,  made  a  hurried 
trip  to  the  hotel  to  see  about  platform  arrangements, 
and  by  noon  she  was  at  home.  After  a  light  lunch  she 
went  to  her  room  to  rest.  No  sooner  had  her  head 
touched  the  pillow,  however,  than  she  recalled  that 
she  had  not  written  to  her  Aunt  Luella  for  a  week. 
As  she  was  sealing  the  envelope,  the  receipt  of  a  bill 
through  the  mail  recalled  that  the  first  of  the  month 
was  at  hand  and  she  had  not  made  up  her  accounts, 
so  she  plunged  into  the  maze.  There  was  her  usual 
difficulty  in  making  two  and  two  spell  four,  as  she 


8o  The  House  of  Landell 

expressed  it,  and  dusk  halted  her  mathematical  ac 
tivities  and  curtailed  the  hour  for  dressing.  She  was 
obliged  to  hurry  her  toilette  that  she  might  be  ready 
for  the  entertainment  which  was  to  begin  at  country 
hours.  The  pines  and  hemlocks  were  already  aglow 
with  sparkling  lights,  twinkling  in  and  about  the  green. 

By  half  after  seven,  the  townspeople  came  thronging 
to  the  hotel,  for  Agnes  Landell  was  wonderful  in  her 
interpretation  and  not  since  the  sudden  translation  of 
the  lamented  Alicia,  had  she  favored  the  public  with 
her  expression.  By  eight,  the  hall  was  filled.  As  on 
the  shores  of  the  Euphrates,  the  clangor  of  brass  and 
the  iron  of  arms,  together  with  the  clashing  of  steel, 
the  neighing  of  horses,  and  the  roar  of  demonism 
as  the  hosts  of  Holofernes  prepared  for  battle  made 
itself  felt  through  the  instrumentation  of  the  pianist, 
heralding  the  theme  of  the  evening. 

Then  Agnes  entered. 

Respecting  her  wish  that  no  applause  interfere  with 
the  mental  picture  presented  through  the  music,  her 
audience  greeted  her  in  a  silence  vibrant  with  concen 
trated  power. 

Rather  with  her  mind  than  with  her  eyes,  she  swept 
the  audience,  reaching  out  and  drawing  them  to  her 
self  in  support  and  cooperation,  shrinking  from  those 
whose  armor  of  criticism  repelled.  There  was  Tom, — 
always  her  helper ;  her  father, — always  an  inspiration ; 
her  mother, — before  whom  she  trembled  a  little,  she 
knew  not  why ;  Grace,  who  amused  her,  even  in  antici 
pation  of  her  bizarre  remarks  which  appealed  to  her 
humor  more  than  to  her  emotions,  they  were  generally 
so  apt,  even  if  uncomplimentary.  There  was  Mevin, 
—what  peace,  what  protection  enfolded  her  as  she 
looked  at  him.  There  was  Dr.  Brentford, — she  felt 
rather  sure  of  his  support, — and  there,  almost  in  the 
front  seat,  was  Alicia's  singing  teacher, — a  remarkable 


The  House  of  Landell  81 

woman.  Alicia!  Alicia!  The  battle-songs  of  the 
infamous  hosts  of  Holofernes!  The  hills  of  Arabia! 
The  waters  of  the  Euphrates!  Judith,  the  Jewish 
Mary,  saviour  of  her  race!  The  New  England  faces 
faded  quite  away  and  Agnes,  as  Judith,  trod  the  plains 
of  Esdraelon,  with  salvation  for  her  people.  Step  by 
step,  in  the  flowing  rhythm  of  Aldrich's  poesy,  she  lived 
that  tragedy ;  threading  her  way  through  mystic  dance 
into  the  presence  of  the  drunken  Holofernes  in  his  tent. 
Like  the  ebb  and  flow  of  moonlight,  she  swayed  to 
the  weird  Assyrian  chant  that  drank  in  the  grape- 
laden  elixir  of  the  Assyrian  night. 

In  poetry  and  song,  she  had  borne  the  burden  of 
the  narrative;  the  intense  description  of  the  invading 
hosts;  the  characterizations  of  the  besotted  Holofernes, 
and  the  Judith  of  the  ages.  She  had  lulled  the  mon 
ster  to  his  death-sleep — when  her  throat  was  clutched 
with  a  demoniacal  violence  and  into  her  open  mouth 
a  palpable  something  began  to  force  its  way. 

"  I  am  Alicia!  "  it  said,  "  I  am  Alicia." 

"  Alicia  would  never  do  such  a  thing,"  returned 
Agnes'  soul,  with  firm  insistence,  her  whole  being 
gripped  in  the  claws  of  the  unseen  horror. 

"  I  am  Alicia ! "  The  invisible  hands  clutched  her 
tighter,  till  her  every  physical,  mental  and  emotional 
nerve  and  muscle  were  engaged  in  the  warfare  of  her 
soul  against  this  effort  to  rape  the  integrity  of  her  in 
dividuality — and  there  was  the  audience,  uncompre 
hending  the  great  drama  behind,  waiting,  watching, 
listening  to  the  tale  she  was  bearing  to  completion. 
Grappling,  life  to  life,  with  this  creature  of  obsession, 
still  there  was  no  halt  in  the  lines,  no  blur  in  the  pic 
ture.  While  every  part  of  her  was  engaged  in  con 
quering  in  this  dreadful  fight,  her  artistic  sense  utilized 
even  the  strangling  that  was  now  almost  suffocation. 
Pantingly,  and  with  physical  agony,  she  forced  her 


82  The  House  of  Landell 

breath  to  speech,  while,  keenly  alert,  she  watched  the 
effect  upon  her  audience  of  this  unrecognized  battle 
being  waged  before  them.  With  physical  as  well  as 
spiritual  strength,  she  was  combatting  an  enemy  dead 
lier  to  her  than  was  Holofernes  to  Judith.  Struggling, 
panting,  denying  entrance  to  this  discarnate  horror 
that  was  fighting  to  the  death  to  overwhelm  and  con 
trol  her,  she  battled  physically,  with  breath  and  arms, 
mentally  searching  a  way  out,  and  with  all  the  strength 
of  her  spirit,  calling,  God!  But  she  was  nearly  ex 
hausted,  her  breath  almost  gone.  She  felt  her  limbs 
giving  way. 

"  God !  God !  "  she  cried,  while  the  text  flowed 
smoothly  on. 

Of  this  soul  struggle  raging  before  them,  the  au 
dience  saw  nothing.  They  were  enthralled  with  the 
majesty  of  the  portrayal. 

Steadily,  as  to  outward  appearance ;  more  and  more 
haltingly  as  to  her  failing  forces,  she  approached  the 
words  by  which — Judith  having  slain  the  king — Bagoas 
summons  the  watchers  on  the  ramparts.  As  she  reached 
this  climax,  with  one  more  desperate  struggle,  she 
threw  out  both  her  arms  repellingly,  putting  from  her 
all  but  space  and  air  and  freedom  and  God.  With  an 
internal  shout  of  supremacy, — a  great  loud  cry  to  the 
Intelligence  protecting  her  against  this  dreadful  thing 
— she  knew  not  what  to  call  it — she  attained  the  next 
stage  in  the  double  drama  she  was  enacting. 

Her  voice  sent  forth  a  message !  It  rang,  as  through 
a  trumpet,  thrilling  the  dullest  listener  there, — 

"  '  He  is  dead ! 

The  Prince  is  dead !     The  Hebrew  witch  hath  slain 
Prince  Holofernes !     Fly,  Assyrians,  Fly ! '  " 

This  was  what  the  people  heard;  but  cringing  back 


The  House  of  Landell  83 

unto  its  own  place,  the  vampire  of  her  soul  heard  her 
proclaim,  "  Begone!  "  To  God  and  herself  she  stood 
there,  triumphant  in  her  conquest  for  the  integrity 'of 
her  soul's  expression.  To  the  audience,  she  was  Agnes, 
with  histrionic  skill,  portraying  the  redemption  of 
Judea. 

Then,  there  came  a  great  peace.  The  fingers  on  her 
throat  relaxed.  Pure  air  replaced  the  sulphurous 
fumes  she  had  been  inhaling;  but  she  was  bereft  of 
strength,  breathless!  Soon,  however,  the  rhythm  of 
her  pulse  began  to  be  established.  Skillfully,  and 
prayerfully,  she  gathered  her  faculties  entirely  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  her  own  intelligence  and  emotions, 
and  brought  the  poem  to  its  end. 

A  tempest  of  applause  succeeded  the  finale,  and 
Agnes  went  down  among  her  friends,  collected,  even 
seeming  cold.  She  was  still  on  the  platform  steps 
when  two  human  arms  clutched  her  with  fierce  tense 
ness,  and  Alicia's  singing-teacher  whispered  hoarsely, 

"Agnes,  I  saw  your  sister  in  you,  every  minute!" 

Agnes  staggered  at  the  import  of  this  confession 
even  as  the  speaker  was  swept  aside  by  oncoming 
friends  and  the  evening  passed  to  a  triumphant  close. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

"I  cannot  hear  what  you  say  for  listening  to 
what  you  are" 

Emerson. 

IN  the  gray  dawn,  Agnes  struggled  from  a  lethargic 
slumber  back  to  the  life  of  day.  A  wild  contention 
of  demands  surged  through  her.  She  tossed  and 
turned,  then  rose  and  wrote  letter  after  letter  until 
eight  o'clock.  By  that  time  she  was  in  agony  with 
the  intense  pain  of  a  headache.  Forcing  her  nerves 
past  nature's  call  for  rest,  she  dressed  and  went  the 
length  of  the  long  avenue  to  the  post  box.  The  sun 
light  shot  into  her  burning  eyeballs,  but  she  was  even 
more  determined  than  she  would  have  been  if  well  to 
call  no  one  away  from  duties  to  mail  her  letters.  She 
had  reached  the  box  and  was  about  to  insert  the  en 
velopes,  when  all  turned  black  before  her.  She  sank  in 
a  little  heap  by  the  big  stone  gate-posts,  where  glory  of 
vine  and  bloom  partially  concealed  her.  Semi-con 
scious,  but  unequal  to  moving,  and  determined  not  to 
call  for  assistance,  she  sat  there  for  some  time.  Then 
her  eyes  opened  dreamily  and  she  scanned  the  long 
length  of  sunshine  which,  to  her,  seemed  as  terrible  as 
a  furnace. 

While  striving  to  summon  courage  to  move  from 
out  the  shadow,  constantly  stealing  more  and  more  of 
its  protection  from  her  as  the  sun  found  its  way  into 
the  interstices  of  the  shrubbery,  she  heard  Tom's 
whistle,  as  he  came  up  fresh  from  a  swim. 

"What  are  you  doing?"  he  said  cheerily,  then 
84 


The  House  of  Landell  85 

stopped  in  astonishment.  "  You  look  like  a  burglar 
lying  in  wait  for  the  family  to  go  picnicing." 

Agnes  burst  into  tears. 

"  You  always  do  joke  so !  Can't  you  see  I  am  in 
agony ! " 

"You  do  look  awfully  used  up;  but  if  you  feel  as 
bad  as  you  look,  why  aren't  you  in  bed,  instead  of  an 
eighth  of  a  mile  from  home  hatless  in  this  blazing  sun 
shine?" 

"  I  had  to  mail  these  letters."  She  held  them  toward 
him.  "  I've  written  these  this  morning." 

"Twelve!"  Taking  the  letters,  he  counted  them 
as  he  posted  them.  "  You  had  to  write  these,  I  sup 
pose!  No  matter  how  much  last  night's  junketting 
took  out  of  you!  You  are  as  intemperate  as  Tiger 
Thompson  in  Pride's  Alley.  You  have  been  on  an 
emotional  spree  for  a  week,  and  now  come  delirium 
tremens,  and  like  most  tremenites  you  don't  know 
enough  to  stay  home.  You  couldn't  possibly  have 
waited,  or  called  some  one  to  mail  them  ?  " 

"  I  didn't  want  to  trouble  any  one." 

"  You  would  never  feel  that  way  about  it  if  you 
were  not  wound  up  to  the  top  notch  of  nerves.  You 
can't  borrow  vitality,  dear." 

"  I  will  not  be  selfish.  I  will  not  notice  my  feel- 
ings!" 

"  And  then,  you  won't  have  any  ?  Feelings  are  sig 
nals  of  processes.  If  you  inhibit  them,  you  don't  in 
hibit  the  processes  and  you  will  soon  find  that  out.'' 

"  Perhaps  I  can  reach  the  house,  now.  I  want  to 
get  up  a  basket  of  fruit  for  Mrs.  Tula  and  some  pro 
visions  for  Mrs.  Meezer— 

' '  One  of  them  lives  by  the  sea  in  the  east, 
One  of  them  lives  in  the  west,  by  the  sea,' " 

sang  Tom.    "  Do  any  of  your  proteges,  by  any  chance, 


86  The  House  of  Landell 

live  near  each  other?  Did  you  happen  to  recall,  when 
you  got  up  to  write  all  these  letters,  that  you  had  given 
your  moral  note  to  mother,  to  receive  with  her  this  af 
ternoon  and  make  her  tea  a  booming  success  ?  Is  that 
promise  to  pay  going  to  protest,  because  you  have  ap 
plied  your  strength  in  directions  other  than  agreed 
upon?  " 

He  caught  his  sister  as  she  was  about  to  fall,  and 
stopped  contritely,  sure  he  was  right,  but  grieved  at 
her  condition. 

"  Go  to  bed,  Cherum,  Cheree,  and  I  will  see  you 
through, — and,  from  the  selfishness  of  unselfish  people, 
'  Good  Lord,  deliver  me,' "  he  finished,  under  his 
breath. 

He  had  assisted  her  to  her  room  and  was  about  to 
leave  her  when  she  handed  him  a  newspaper  she  had 
picked  up  by  the  gateway;  but  had  not  opened. 

"  This  belongs  to  the  chauffeur.  Will  you  see  that 
he  gets  it?  I  wish  such  sensationalism  need  not  come 
to  our  doors, — oh,  I've  dropped  it." 

Tom  caught  the  paper  as  it  fell,  and  it  opened,  dis 
playing  to  his  astounded  gaze  a  picture  of  Agnes  on 
the  front  page. 

"  Is  this  you!  "  he  exclaimed. 

Agnes  quickly  snatched  the  sheet  and  looked  at  the 
page  intensely. 

"  What  is  it !  "  she  gasped.     "  Tom !    Tom !  " 

With  trembling  finger,  she  pointed  to  the  headlines 
above  the  photograph.  Tom  read  aloud, 

<: '  A  snapshot  of  a  New  England  seer,  possessed  of 
marvelous  powers.  *  *  *  Discovers  in  a  beautiful 
deserted  house,  Mrs.  David  Herman  and  her  son, 
Philip.  These  are  the  millionaires  who  mystified  so 
ciety  some  time  ago,  by  their  strange  disappearance.'  ' 

"  Another  headline,"  she  groaned.  "  Stop,  Tom, 
stop!" 


The  House  of  Landell  87 

" '  When  found,'  '  pursued  Tom,  relentlessly, 
"  '  they  were  in  a  destitute  and  starving  condition— 

"Another!"  she  quivered,  looking  over  his  shoul 
der,  fearing  to  hear  the  succeeding  lines.  At  the  same 
time  an  intense  desire  to  know  the  worst,  impelled  her 
to  listen. 

"  '  Proceeds  of  the  great  huckleberry  festival  to  be 
nucleus  of  a  fund  for  their  support— 

"  What  shall  I  do !  " 

"  It  goes  on, — '  At  last,  the  world's  curiosity  is  satis 
fied  by  news  of  their  safety.  The  establishing  of  a 
fund,  by  this  brilliant  society  belle,  to  help  this  worthy 
couple — ' 

"Will  it  never  end?" 

"  Another  headline. — '  A  call  is  made  to  all  the 
charitably  inclined,  far  and  near,  to  join  this  worthy 
cause.  Send  pennies,  dimes,  quarters —  '  so  it  goes  on, 
ad  infinitum." 

"  What  have  I  done !  " 

Tom  concealed  his  feelings  and  soothed  his  sister  as 
best  he  could;  but  when  at  last  he  left  her,  she  still 
clutched  the  paper,  which,  at  intervals,  she  reverted  to, 
and  mourned  over. 

In  a  few  moments  he  was  in  the  breakfast  room. 

"  I  wonder  if  Agnes  is  coming  soon,"  Mrs.  Landell 
looked  past  her  son  questioningly. 

"  No,  mother,  she  is  paying  the  penalty  of  philan 
thropic  dissipation,"  he  returned,  bitterly.  "  It  was 
all  very  beautiful  for  her  to  find  that  family;  but  what 
an  expose  she  has  made  for  them.  She  has  used  them 
to  turn  out  entertainment  for  others.  Don't  tell  me 
a  pure  motive  is  all  that  is  needed  in  the  climb  of  at 
tainment!  Intelligence,  discernment,  and  discrimina 
tion  well  mulsified  and  made  up  into  a  dressing  called 
common  sense  is  the  sauce  to  serve  with  the  salad  of 


88  The  House  of  Landell 

life."  He  retailed  the  circumstance  over  which  Agnes 
was  grieving  up-stairs. 

"  I  lecture  her  about  indiscriminate  use  of  self  until 
I  am  ashamed.  '  We  can't  detach  the  individual  from 
the  world ;  but  we  must  learn  to  realize  personality  in 
terms  of  the  common  good.'  ' 

Mr.  Landell  looked  meditatively  at  his  son. 

"  A  while  ago,"  he  said,  "  for  the  very  purpose  of 
observing  differences  in  the  processes  of  their  growth, 
a  religious  publication  desired  to  come  into  relations 
with  young  persons,  some  trained  in  the  dogma  of  the 
theologians  and  some  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  idea 
that  the  acquisition  of  Truth  is  an  unfolding  process. 
In  a  way,  you  and  Ague,'  would  meet  the  requirements 
well." 

"  Wherein  do  you  consider  that  we  have  not  been 
brought  up  alike?  Do  you  refer  to  the  processes  of 
reincarnation  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  accept  that  theory  as  do  many.  I  believe, 
not  so  much  in  repeated  earth  reincarnations  as  in  soul 
growth.  They  who  accept  that  explanation,  seem  to 
me  to  lack  imagination.  There  are  other  ways  of 
learning  than  through  repetition  and  other  bounds  of 
advancement  than  this  little  earth.  I  start  with  the 
premise  that  you  and  she  appeared  at  this  earth  stage, 
having  attained  different  stages  of  soul  growth.  Your 
unfoldment  is  less  than  hers,  but  more  sequential. 
Since  you  were  put  into  harness  here  you  have  had 
uninterrupted  training,  which  promotes  a  certain  habit 
of  mind  and  principle  of  conduct.  Approaching  life 
reverently,  independently  and  personally,  you  have 
been  related  with  real  sources  of  power,  rather  than 
with  the  machinery  of  dogma." 

"  I  feel  the  truth  of  that  most  gratefully." 

''  You  have  never,  in  order  to  be  true  to  a  cause, 
been  placed  in  the  position  of  maintaining  an  attitude 


The  House  of  Landell  89 

of  mind  which  your  soul  repudiates  as  unwholesome, 
unhelpful  and  unintelligent,  thus  poisoning  your  mani 
festation  with  secretions  that  insincerity,  whether  in 
tentional  or  not,  causes  to  accumulate. 

"  Agnes'  training  has  been  less  sequential.  Now, 
transcendently  happy  at  what  her  spiritual  illumina 
tion  has  granted  her,  again,  she  is  torn  by  agonies  of 
doubt  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  tenets  she  believes  she 
should  accept.  She  stands  in  the  midst  of  crudities 
which  are  loathsome  to  her,  but  do  not  distress  you, 
because,  what  she  sees  as  retrogression  you  see  as  pro 
gression.  She  constantly  depreciates  herself  as  less 
than  she  has  been  in  some  previous  state;  you  con 
stantly  appreciate  yourself  as  more  to-day  than  you 
were  yesterday." 

"  You  diagnose  her  well.  I  hope  I  am  as  fine  as 
you  make  me  sound.  How  fortunate  that  in  all  the 
cataclysms  of  earlier  days  I  was  allowed  to  remain 
with  you  two  splendid  ones."  Tom  looked  lovingly  at 
his  mother  sitting  stately  and  beautiful  behind  the  urn. 
"  So  the  difference  in  our  beginnings  here  may  be 
summed  up  in  this — I  recognize  the  ascent  of  man; 
she  long  has  mourned  his  fall ! 

"  I  am  glad  I  took  up  psychurgy,  together  with 
medicine.  It  is  thoroughly  constructive,"  he  continued. 
"  I  am  glad,  too,  that  I  had  that  splendid  course  in 
mathematics.  It  holds  so  clearly  before  me  the  prin 
ciple  of  One.  Do  you  think  it  possible  for  me  to  help 
Agnes,  without  interfering  with  her  business  of  prov 
ing  her  own  propositions?  As  I  read  you,  she  and 
I  are  rather  near  each  other,  at  times,  as  we  move  on 
different  arcs  of  the  circle  of  life." 

"  I  think  it  a  good  idea.  While  you,  with  your  prac 
tical  common  sense,  may  assist  her  to  discriminate,  she, 
with  her  spiritual  idealism,  may  help  you  to  your  vi- 


QO  The  House  of  Landell 

sion.     Remember,  through  it  all,  that  time  is  not  an 
element  necessary  to  growth  of  soul.    Recognition  is." 

For  some  days  after  this  experience,  Agnes  lay  in 
almost  a  comatose  state,  taking  little  nourishment, 
rousing  herself,  at  intervals,  to  bemoan  her  horrible 
error,  then  sinking,  again,  into  the  condition,  not  of 
lethargy,  but  of  peace. 

"  She  is  wholly  exhausted,"  she  heard  her  mother 
whisper,  the  first  day.  "  Don't  you  think,  Daniel,  she 
should  have  stimulant?  " 

"  I  am  over-stimulated,  now,  dear  mother,"  she  had 
roused  herself  to  say.  "  I  am  not  ill.  I  am  being 
infilled  with  the  Spirit  of  Truth.  If  only  Peter  and 
John  will  watch  over  me,  and  not  weary  nor  grow 
faint." 

At  another  time,  she  called  for  pencil  and  paper, 
and  requested  to  be  left  alone.  After  hours  of  peace, 
would  come  the  transcribing  of  a  poem,  or  aphorism, 
then  rest,  again. 

"  Watch  over  me,"  she  said.  "  Keep  from  me, 
what  is  not  trained  toward  the  highest  and  best. 
I  must  remain  in  this  well  of  divine  restfulness  until 
I  have  discerned  my  message.  Each  time  I  have 
what  some  call  nervous  prostration,  I  return  to  the 
life  of  the  to-day  like  a  mother  after  travail  with 
child.  It  may  be  I  express  creation  through  a  poem, 
a  tale,  a  new  correlation  and  perception  of  former  un 
derstandings ;  but  it  is  a  child — myself,  maybe — being 
born  again." 

One  day,  on  the  edge  of  the  evening,  she  returned 
to  her  old  sense  of  compulsion  and  hurtling  demand. 
The  whole  world  seemed  holding  out  its  hands  for 
help  that  she  alone  could  give. 

"  I  am  afraid !  "  she  gasped.    "  Afraid !  " 

Rising,  she  went  to  the  window.     Cool  night  was 


The  House  of  Landell  91 

settling  down.  The  restfulness  of  twilight  brooded 
over  her,  and  soothed,  though  it  could  not  dispel.  Her 
brain  cried  out  for  release  from  its  dreadful  pressure' 
and  the  old  dominance  impelled  her. 

"  I  must  attain,"  she  said  intensely.  "  We  are  put 
here  to  work." 

Going  to  her  desk,  she  took  out  a  manuscript.  With 
a  tension  that  jarred  her  entire  physique,  she  began 
crossing  out  and  adding,  until  the  sheets  were  masses 
of  hieroglyphics.  She  failed  to  note  that  the  door  was 
opening,  until  Tom's  voice  startled  her. 

"  Boozing  again,  Agnesia,  and  pounding  away  as 
if  that  pen  were  a  mallet  and  the  paper,  stone.  So 
dark,  too,  that  you  have  to  feel  your  .way.  Why  don't 
you  think,  before  you  use  your  physical  strength  tran 
scribing!  " 

Whimsically,  Agnes  looked  up  at  her  brother,  her 
face  alight. 

"  You  know  I  must  see  Truth  grow.  I  love  to  see 
it  shape  out  of  debris  new  forms  of  beauty." 

"  I  don't,— after  that  fashion!  " 

Decisively,  he  took  the  manuscript  from  her  hands. 

"I  want  a  conceived  idea;  a  clear  sheet;  a  sharp 
pencil;  then,  forge  ahead." 

"  I  see  too  much  at  once  to  do  that !  " 

"  I  know  it.  Realms  open  up  their  treasures  to  you ; 
but,  if  you  don't  select,  you  will  end  by  utilizing  none 
of  them." 

"  I  realize  that,  and,  in  this  resting  time,  I  have  felt 
as  if  I  were  a  Christ  in  embryo,  out  on  the  hillside  with 
the  Infinite  Father,  protected,  by  those  about  me,  from 
conflict.  I  have  made  up  my  mind  to  follow  more  at 
tentively  some  of  the  beautiful  aphorisms  I  am  so 
capable  of  expressing  in  word  and  fall  so  far  short  of 
demonstrating  in  action." 

"  So  you  think  the  negative  has  been  in  the  dark 


92  The  House  of  Landell 

room  long  enough  to  be  ready  for  the  developing  pro 
cess?" 

"  Yes,  I  do.    Matilda,  stop!  " 

Tom  looked  intently  at  his  sister  and  laughed. 

"  You  might  work  on  that  notion —  " 

"  It  is  not  a  notion.  I  proved  that  to  you  the  other 
night." 

"  A  coincidence.  Nothing  more.  I  thought  so, 
then;  but  did  not  wish  to  excite  you  by  discussion. 
Look  out !  " 

"  I  could  prove  it  as  I  did  the  other  time ;  but  I  sup 
pose  it  would  not  be  proof  to  you.  I  agree,  though, 
that  it  is  a  very  wise  way  to  treat  it, — as  a  notion. 
Matilda !  "  she  spoke  into  the  air,  "  I  love  you ;  but  it 
is  my  right  that  you  send  me  messages  in  such  manner 
as  shall  give  us  both  pleasure  and  unify  your  purpose 
of  receiving  with  mine  of  giving." 

"  Good !    I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  that !  " 

Agnes  looked  happy. 

"  Besides,  I  have  selected  something  from  all  the 
whirl  that  is  in  my  brain.  I  want  to  put  you  and  Mat- 
tee  Sue  into  my  story.  I  wish  I  had  more  material." 

"  I  can  give  you  some.  She  did  answer  my  letter, 
after  all!" 

With  an  amusing  air  of  satisfaction,  he  drew  an 
envelope  from  his  pocket.  Ostentatiously  opening  the 
missive,  he  read  it  with  mock  impressiveness. 

"  I  call  that  perfectly  dear,"  she  commented,  as  he 
folded  the  paper. 

"  I  call  it  immensely  jolly !  "  and  he  tossed  it  to  her, 
humming, 

"  My  Mattee  Sue,  my  Mattee  Sue, 
How  I  shall  aye  adore  thee ! 
My  heart  did  beat 
Like  tripping  feet, 
For  fear  that  thou  would'st  scorn  me! 


The  House  of  Landell  93 

"  I'll  tell  cook  to  send  you  a  fine  dinner,  and  mind  you 
marry  me  to  Mattee  Sue !  "  • , 

He  swung  out  of  the  room,  leaving  a  feeling  of 
lightheartedness  and  splendid  virility  behind  him,  con 
tinuing  his  impromptu  serenade  to  his  distant  goddess, 

"  But  now  I  read 
Thy  kindly  screed, 
I  feel  a  trifle  safer, 
So  take  my  pen 
To  write  again, 
With  speed  of  auto-racer !  " 

"  Is  the  difference  between  us  in  our  temperaments 
or  in  our  training,  and  how  much  has  one  to  do  with 
the  other?" 

Then,  her  mind  played  happily  and  restfully  upon 
Tom  with  his  winsome  boyishness  and  his  splendid 
manliness. 

"  I  should  like  to  know  this  Mattee  Sue  who  has  so 
caught  his  fancy." 

She  lingered  with  vivid  intensity  upon  the  incipient 
romance  that  gave  promise  of  extending,  at  least  into 
friendship.  At  length  she  rose  in  the  fast  darkening 
night,  and  gathered  together  the  loose  sheets  of  manu 
script.  As  she  turned  to  the  desk  she  saw  a  young  girl 
standing  by  the  entrance  of  an  adjoining  room.  She 
spoke  to  her.  The  only  response  was  a  faint  odor  of 
jessamine.  Then  the  sky  seemed  shot  with  flame;  a 
figure  swirled  into  shape  from  out  vortexes  of  smoke, 
and  drawn  slowly  but  surely  into  the  circle  of  danger, 
she  saw  Tom. 

"  I  am  afraid !  "  she  gasped.    "  Afraid !  " 

Within  the  confines  of  herself,  a  voice  spoke, — 

"  '  The  Name  of  the  Lord  is  a  strong  tower;  the 
righteous  runneth  into  it  and  is  safe.'  ' 

With  mind  and  heart,  steadily  she  maintained  this 


94  The  House  of  Landell 

thought,  until  slowly,  the  flame,  the  terrifying  figure, 
vanished,  leaving  Tom  unscathed.  A  moment  more, 
and  he,  too,  disappeared.  The  young  girl  remained 
motionless  and  sweet.  She  held  a  spray  of  yellow  jes 
samine  toward  Agnes,  then  seemed  to  blend  into  the 
shadows. 

"  Agnes !  "  It  was  Tom's  voice  at  the  door.  "  I 
left  Mattee  Sue's  letter  with  you.  May  I  get  it?  Ah, 
you  have  it  in  your  hand." 

He  took  it  quickly  from  her  and  left  the  room. 
Agnes  looked  at  her  ringers,  still  in  the  attitude  of 
holding. 

"  Her  letter  in  my  hand !  "  she  gasped. 

Her  moment  of  assertiveness  was  over.  She  stag 
gered  to  a  couch  and  burst  into  tempestuous  weeping. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

"  We  often  do  more  good  by  our  sympathy  than 
by  our  labors,  and  render  to  the  world  a  more 
lasting  service  by  absence  of  jealousy  and  recog 
nition  of  merit  than  we  ever  could  render  by  the 
straining  efforts  of  personal  ambition." 

Farrar. 

"  AGNES,  come  and  see  what  father  has  given  me," 
said  Tom,  a  few  days  after  his  sister  reappeared  in 
the  family  circle. 

The  two  crossed  the  wide  sweep  of  lawn.  Tom  un 
locked  the  door  of  the  summer  house,  which  he  had 
fitted  up  as  a  laboratory,  and  they  entered.  At  once 
Agnes'  eyes  lighted  upon  two  manikins,  unduly  full  of 
color,  in  contrast,  as  they  were,  with  several  skeletons. 

"What  beauties!"  she  exclaimed,  admiringly. 
"  They  are  so  handsome,  they  do  not  even  look  grue 
some." 

"  They  are  healthy,  aren't  they !  These  other  fel 
lows  are  positively  mortified.  Cheer  up,  old  chap,  you 
have  your  uses,  too." 

He  gave  one  of  the  skeletons  a  friendly  punch. 

"  Isn't  father  magnificent !  These  manikins  repre 
sent  at  least  three  zeroes  in  money.  They  are  male  and 
female;  ideal  height  and  proportions.  Here  is  the  old 
fellow's  liver,  and  here  are  his  stomach  and  lungs." 

He  drew  out  the  perfectly  fitting  pieces  and  displayed 
them  with  the  joyousness  of  a  child. 

Agnes  became  a  sickly  yellow  as  she  turned  away 
her  head. 

"  I  abhor  the  physical !  Besides,  it  is  all  illusion !  " 

95 


96  The  House  of  Landell 

"  We  do  not  abhor  what  has  no  dominion  over  us," 
said  Tom  gravely,  "  nor  what  we  honestly  believe  il 
lusion.  That  would  be  to  abhor  nothing!  You  will  be 
in  bondage  to  the  physical  every  moment  of  your  exis 
tence,  till  you  learn  its  rightful  place  in  the  plan  of 
manifesting  energy.  See  from  these  figures  how  won 
derfully  you  are  made.  No  marvel  of  engineering  but 
is  patterned  after  the  working  principle  of  the  body; 
no  mystery  of  science  but  we  are  finding  inherent  in 
it.  Look  at  this  network  of  nerves  and  these  hemi 
spheres  of  brains.  See  how  carefully  they  are  equipped 
for  service.  To-day,  we  know  that  our  every  emotion 
makes  tissues,  healthy  or  unhealthy.  A  man  is  build 
ing  sound  kidneys  every  time  he  produces  the  tissue- 
making  quality  of  a  healthy  emotion.  Every  time  we 
permit  doubt  or  fear  to  pass  this  sentinel,  where  the 
nerve  plexus  joins  the  brain,  we  are  incorporating  de 
structive  material  into  our  bodies  as  actually  as  if  we 
were  taking  chloral.  As  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart, 
so  is  he!  " 

"  I  am  tired  of  hearing  that.  It  should  be  as  a  man 
has  thought,  for  what  is  one  to  do  with  the  vast  accre 
tion  of  his  indiscriminate  selections,  chosen  during  the 
eons  since  he  began !  " 

"  Transmute  it,  even  as  the  disintegrating  of  the 
rocks  beneath  our  fields  results  in  different  chemical 
combinations  that  give  food  to  different  crops." 

"  I  love  to  believe  that  the  Fountain  Head  of  Crea 
tion  is  pure  and  all  abundant;  that  souls  are  emanated 
therefrom  as  expressions  of  the  processes  whereby 
completion  is  attained;  and  that  each  soul  has,  in  to 
tality,  all  that  the  Great  Original  possesses,  but  not 
grown,  so  to  speak.  Can  you  trace  the  processes  from 
the  beginnings  of  the  individual  soul  expression  to  our 
present  stage  ?  " 

"  As  I  understand,  your  mentality  is  the  result  of 


The  House  of  Landell  97 

all  discriminative  acts  performed  by  your  soul,  even 
in  its  first  forms  of  life.  As  a  soul,  you,  at  each  stage 
needed  an  embodiment  indicative  of  the  choices  you 
had  made,  and  in  the  climb  you  came  to  the  stage  of 
physical  embodiment." 

"  And  you  think  the  result  of  this  physical  embodi 
ment  is  accreted  mentality?  " 

"  That  is  my  idea.  This,  in  turn,  was,  and  always 
is,  nurtured  by  the  brooding  Holy  Mother  Spirit." 

"  So  when  this  structure  is  entrusted  to  our  own 
discretion — ?  " 

"  It  is  sustained,  renewed,  and  constantly  reformed 
and  illumined  through  our  discriminative  actions,  the 
same  now,  when  we  are  conscious  of  our  powers  as 
was  the  case  when  the  choice  was  unconscious." 

"  Then  it  is  at  this  stage  that  our  moral  accountabil 
ity  begins,  because  we  are  coadjutors  with  God." 

"  So  I  understand  it.  Oh,  don't  you  see  the  value  of 
gaining  conscious  supremacy  over  all  our  states  of 
readjustment  or  flux,  by  intelligent  direction  of  tissue- 
making  emotions,  and  testing  their  value  through  the 
medium  of  this  wonderful  register,  the  human  body! 
Do  let  me  use  these  manikins  to  help  put  you  on  your 
feet." 

"  I  know  you  want  to  be  helpful ;  but,  dear,  I  do  not 
truly  feel  that  I  am  off  my  feet.  Of  course,  there  is 
much  I  do  not  understand,  and  I  have  much  to  learn; 
but  I  feel  that  my  feet  are  firmly  based  in  Principle. 
I  wish  that  Principle  unfolded;  but  my  feet  shall  not 
be  moved.  I  want  to  rise  above  the  teachings  of  Aunt 
Luella,  which  were  supposed  to  be  spiritual  but  were 
really  material.  I  realize  what  an  influence  this  train 
ing  has  had  in  producing  immature  states  of  mind  and 
body,  expressing  in  agony  and  confusion.  That  part, 
Tom,  is  illusion.  Spirit  is  all,  and  expresses  only  in 
grace  and  in  truth." 


98  The  House  of  Landell 

Tom  looked  at  his  sister  despairingly. 

"  I  should  not  like  to  worship  a  God  who  presents  to 
my  mind  magical  proclivities !  To  me,  it  would  be  as 
undesirable  as  worshipping  the  conceptions  of  John 
Calvin's  brain.  If  you  have  it  in  your  mind  to  discard 
a  God,  who,  you  believe,  has  made  you  a  worm,  for 
one  who  has  made  you  an  illusion,  I  don't  think  much 
of  the  change!  I'd  far  rather  be  a  worm,  for  there 
is  opportunity  for  transmutation.  I,  too,  believe  Spirit 
is  all;  or  call  it  all  Material!  What  difference,  the 
name  you  give  it !  It  is  all  One,  expressing  the  same 
ideal  through  its  different  stages  of  unfoldment.  No 
part  of  it  is  illusion  or  reflection  or  shadow ;  it  is  ema 
nation  or  reflexion  of  the  One  Great  Spirit,  expressing 
through  all  grades  of  understanding,  as  the  child  in 
the  nursery  begins  his  study  of  relations  with  one;  the 
astronomer  towers  into  the  constellations,  and  the 
Christ,  to  heights  beyond,  on  the  Principle  of  that 
same  Almighty  One!  Does  this  tire  you?" 

"  No.     I  am  interested,  but —  " 

"  Think  you  should  not  be  ?  Listen  a  minute  longer 
and  see  if  I  do  not  take  you,  in  sequence,  to  your  own 
point  of  vantage,  but  with  better  understanding  of 
your  foundation.  I  do  not  set  myself  up  as  a  mentor; 
but  I  am  thankful,  every  day,  for  my  liberal  upbring 
ing,  that  never  inoculated  me  with  the  virus  of  fear 
or  introduced  the  doubts  you  so  constantly  contend 
with.  From  that  platform,  no  one  can  oust  me  and, 
in  standing  on  it,  I  trespass  on  no  one's  preserves." 

"  I  am  so  simple !  "  sighed  Agnes.  "  Often,  I  think 
I  should  be  well  and  happy  were  it  not  for  all  these 
philosophical  discussions, — no — dogmatic,  I  mean. 
Philosophy  is  not  confusing  and  brain-wracking.  To 
me,  it  is  like  a  broad  stream  of  water,  down  which  one 
may  float,  looking  into  the  light  that  is  mellowed  to 
suit  our  vision.  As  we  float,  light  illumines  all  the  ob- 


The  House  of  Landell  99 

jects  along  the  shores.  It  draws  the  little  wood-birds 
to  the  brink,  to  partake  freely  of  this  water  of  life: 
serpents  and  reptiles  are  won  from  dark  hiding-places 
to  bask  upon  its  banks  in  the  sunshine.  It  colors  the 
clouds,  that,  even  as  they  vanish,  reveal  the  processes 
of  phenomena ;  it  gives  us  flashes  and  flecks  of  its  violet 
and  ultra-violet  rays  and  shows  us  that  the  broad  river 
flows  on,  bearing  us  with  it, — not  on  the  stream  of 
time,  but  on  the  stream  of  wisdom.  Truth  is  the  bark 
by  which  we  are  borne  to  the  ocean  of  understanding. 
Understanding!  God,  guide  the  bark!  " 

She  paused  a  moment,  then  began  again, — 
"If  the  time-honored  definition  of  truth  be  a  good 
one — that  it  is  '  the  correspondence  between  the  idea 
and  its  objectifying,'  however  low  in  the  scale  is  the 
idea,  if  it  is  correspondingly  objectified,  still  it  is  a 
truth.  The  horrible  voodoo  practices,  objectifying  an 
idea,  are  truth.  Tom !  "  Exasperatedly,  she  threw  out 
her  hands  toward  the  manikins,  that,  unmoved  and 
smiling,  stood  ready  to  objectify  his  arguments. 
"  What  is  the  use  of  my  studying  physical  structure, 
when  I  can  pray?  When  I  can  light  the  seven  altars 
of  my  soul,  symbolized  in  this  body  (which,  in  itself, 
is  but  a  symbol )  ?  When  I  can  say :  run,  feet,  and 
worship  the  Supreme  Ideal  by  service;  bow,  knee,  in 
homage  to  your  Maker;  express,  thighs,  the  splendor 
of  the  Wisdom  that  dominates  the  idea  of  you!  Hav 
ing  gained  wisdom  through  sacrifice  upon  these  altars 
of  obedience,  I  may  learn  the  Law.  Then,  I  may  walk 
therein.  Upon  the  altar  of  creation  I  may  lay  my  con 
ceived  truth,  brood  over  it  and  bear  it  into  light,  a 
larger  truth.  Upon  the  altar  of  the  sun  of  my  physical 
being  I  may  place  love  and  it  shall  illumine  me.  On 
the  altar  of  my  mentality  I  may  place  what  I  do  not 
understand  and  it  shall  be  revealed ;  on  the  altar  of 
spiritual  insight  I  may  lay  myself  and  I  shall  express 


loo  The  House  of  Landell 

its  message  to  the  world.  Your  smiling,  inane  mani 
kins  are  expressive  of  an  idea  in  which  there  is  truth, 
and  this  embodiment  of  mine  is  true,  actually  real ;  but 
each  expresses  a  correspondence  between  ideas  of  lim 
ited  range  and  their  equally  limited  objectifying.  My 
idea  does  not  balance  with  my  living  the  life,  other  than 
by  pitiful  fits  and  starts,  because  I  do  not  keep  aligned 
with  Wisdom,  while  my  mental  camera  is  sweeping 
from  the  Gethsemanes  to  the  hilltops." 

"  Which,  expressed  in  symbolism,  is  exactly  what 
I  am  attempting  to  demonstrate.  We  are  very  close  to 
each  other  after  all;  but  except  for  the  abominable 
veil  of  words  you  are  far  beyond  me  in  vision,  beck 
oning  me  toward  light." 

They  were  leaving  the  laboratory.  Tom  had  turned 
to  close  the  shutters,  when  Agnes  leaped  across  the 
room  and  pushed  him  against  the  wall.  Before  he 
could  recover  sufficiently  to  inquire  into  her  action, 
a  great  mastiff  bounded  in  at  the  entrance,  sprang 
across  the  spot  where  he  had  been  standing  and,  in  lieu 
of  him,  flew  at  one  of  the  manikins,  brought  it  to  the 
floor  and  began  to  mouth  it  ferociously. 

"  Down,  Basco !  Good  fellow  !  "  he  called ;  but  the 
usually  obedient  animal  paid  no  attention. 

"  Don't  call  him  away !  Therein  is  our  safety ! " 
cautioned  Agnes.  "  We  cannot  get  to  the  door." 

As  she  spoke,  they  heard  hasty  footsteps  and  Mr. 
Landell  came  swiftly  down  the  path. 

"  Don't  move.    I  am  going  to  shoot." 

There  came  a  flash,  an  explosion,  and  the  handsome 
creature  lay  stretched  over  the  prized  manikin. 

"  Was  that  necessary !  " 

Tom's  voice  was  full  of  the  hurt  of  his  heart.  The 
Landells  loved  their  animals,  and  the  dog  was  one  of 
their  most  cherished. 

"  It  had  to  be,"  said  Mr.  Landell.    "  I  fear  I  must 


The  House  of  Landell  101 

» 

do  the  same  for  Prince.  Basco  bit  him  and  I  found 
him  thrashing  the  ground  in  agony.  I  have  sent  for 
the  veterinary.  He  must  be  here  by  now." 

They  left  the  summer  house  and  went  to  the  corral, 
where  lay  Mr.  Landell's  special  driving  horse.  The 
veterinary  stood  beside  him,  looking  thoughtful. 

"  Put  up  your  pistol,  Mr.  Landell,"  he  said.  "  Na 
ture  has  been  good  to  him,  and  put  him  to  sleep  her 
own  way.  How  did  it  happen  ?  " 

"  Basco — the  dog — bit  him." 

They  retraced  their  steps  to  the  laboratory.  The 
dog  lay  where  the  unerring  shot  had  felled  him.  A 
strange  change  was  taking  place  in  his  appearance. 

"  This  isn't  rabies,  I  feel  sure." 

The  surgeon  looked  more  closely,  then  straightened 
suddenly. 

"  Any  rattlesnakes  about  here  ?  " 

"  Yes.  Basco  was  out  foraging  down  by  the  swamp, 
this  morning." 

"  That  is  it !  He  was  bitten  and  his  bite  inoculated 
the  horse.  Well  for  all  that  it  has  ended  as  it  has." 

"  But  for  Agnes,"  said  Tom,  awestruck,  "  and  I 
should  have  been  lying  there." 


CHAPTER  X. 

Be  still  and  know  that  I  AM  God. 

Psalm  xlvi-io. 

AGAIN  the  afternoon  sun  glinted  through  the  leaves 
of  the  trumpet  vines  and  the  heavy  wistaria,  streamed 
in  at  the  open  casement  of  the  little  mountain  shoot 
ing-box,  and  shimmered  in  broad  mosaic  upon  the 
floor.  A  woman  of  noble  bearing  was  moving  about 
the  room.  She  would  have  seemed  strangely  out  of 
place,  had  not  her  personality  imbued  the  apartment 
with  herself.  It  seemed  as  if  she  had  called  upon  the 
sunbeams  to  garnish  the  bareness  and  had  made  servi 
tors  of  the  breezes  and  the  vine  leaves,  to  lay  for 
her  a  tessellated  pavement.  An  invalid  sat  in  an  arm 
chair  by  the  open  casement,  looking  blankly  toward  the 
hills.  Silence,  fraught  with  terrible  tension,  loomed 
chasm-like  between  the  two.  Moments  passed.  At 
length,  the  son  moved  restlessly  and  turned  heavy  eyes 
toward  his  mother. 

"  It  is  useless  longer  to  evade  the  question !  I  will 
know !  The  days  of  the  friendly  people  in  the  wilder 
ness  have  passed,  and,  even  so,  I  am  no  Elijah  to  be 
fed  by  them.  There  is  an  almoner  at  the  gate.  Who 
is  it?" 

Mrs.  Herman  did  not  reply.  The  man's  hitherto 
expressionless  face  flashed  command  upon  her  as  he 
eyed  her  piercingly. 

"  How  have  we  existed?  " 

The  mother  looked  long  and  intently  into  the  soul 
of  her  son  as  he  faced  her.  A  slender  man,  he  was, 

1 02 


The  House  of  Landell  193 

with  fair  hair  and  features  like  chiselled  marble.  Only 
his  large  deep  eyes  betrayed  the  crater  of  emotion  that 
seethed  within. 

"  I  am  well  aware  of  the  condition  of  our  bank  ac 
count.  It  will  be  useless  to  attempt  to  deceive  me." 

"  Have  you  ever  known  me  to  do  that,  from  the 
moment  you  looked  into  my  eyes  and  knew  me  as  your 
mother  ?  " 

"  Moments  like  this  bring  out  all  sorts  of  devilish 
traits,"  he  retorted_,  insolently. 

"  Moments  like  this  bring  out  the  God  in  man !  " 

He  moved  fretfully. 

"  It  is  useless  to  quibble.    I  will  know." 

"  I  am  not  going  to  tell  you,  now.  You  must  con 
serve  your  strength  for  other  matters.  There  is  time 
enough ! " 

"  Yes,  all  my  lifetime  in  which  to  realize  that  I  am 
a  failure  and  a  burden —  " 

"  Some  one  is  coming  toward  the  house." 

Mrs.  Herman  turned  to  the  window,  as  she  spoke. 

"  It  is  a  boy  in  a  wagon,  with  a  basket  and  some 
flowers." 

Grateful  for  the  interruption,  she  went  to  the  door. 

"  Mr.  Mevin  says  he's  been  afishin'  an'  as  how  he 
thought  you  mought  like  these  fresh  pickerel." 

The  little  fellow  looked  confidingly  into  Mrs.  Her 
man's  face  as  he  delivered  the  message  and  continued, 

"  He  says,  cook  'em  quick,  an'  if  the  sick  man  can't 
eat  'em,  you  can,  an'  as  how  he  hopes  you'll  enjoy  'em, 
an'  how's  the  gentleman?  An'  I  brought  you  some 
flowers  I  picked,"  he  concluded  shyly,  "  I  ain't  never 
had  to  stay  in  the  house  in  all  my  life.  It  must  be 
awful!" 

Mrs.  Herman's  smile  repaid  the  lad,  and  made  him 
happy  "  way  down  deep  inside,"  as  he  described  the 
sensation  to  his  mother. 


104  The  House  of  Landell 

Giving  the  flowers  to  Philip,  she  took  the  fresh,  firm 
fish  from  the  basket. 

"What  is  your  name?"  she  asked  the  child.  "I 
love  to  think  of  my  friends  by  name,  and  I  shall  think 
of  you  often,  now." 

"  Jeff  Parmelee,  an'  I'll  bring  you  some  more,  some 
time.  Say,  what's  the  matter  with  the  gentleman !  " — 
for  such  time  as  he  could  spare  from  looking  into  the 
eyes  of  the  beautiful  lady  were  occupied  in  scanning 
the  room  and  its  other  occupant. 

"  Good-bye,  I  must  go !  "  he  exclaimed  suddenly,  as, 
frightened,  he  ran  back  to  his  horse  and  drove  away. 

Mrs.  Herman  turned  toward  her  son.  He  sat  where 
she  had  left  him;  but  he  had  become  an  ashen  gray. 
The  flowers  lay  at  his  feet  and  he  was  staring  at  the 
newspaper  which  had  protected  them.  His  eyes  were 
as  those  without  vision — fastened  upon  some  horror. 
She  ran  to  him.  One  glance  at  the  staring  headlines 
and  she  knew  she  had  no  need  to  tell  him  who  their 
almoner  was.  She  did  not  speak.  She  prayed.  The 
old  newspaper  slipped  to  the  floor,  where  the  flowers 
nestled  at  his  feet.  He  covered  his  face  with  his  thin 
hands,  shivering  as  with  ague,  while  veins  swelled  to 
cords  in  his  forehead.  A  moment,  and  his  bowed  form 
straightened  tensely  and  he  struggled  to  his  feet.  The 
nerve  force  lasted  but  an  instant  and  his  mother  moved 
swiftly  forward  to  support  him  as  he  staggered  against 
the  wall. 

"  I  could  kill  her  for  the  affront,"  he  groaned.  "  I 
am  a  Lazarus,  made  dependent  by  God's  very  scheme 
of  salvation,  pagan,  brutal,  bestial,  and  diabolic. 
When  men  tear  their  fellows  asunder,  and  suck  their 
blood,  they  obey  the  dictates  of  a  master  that  forces 
them,  as  He  forced  Abel,  to  kill  helpless  lambs  for  His 
altars,  to  propitiate  Him.  If,  like  Cain,  we  offer  fruits 
of  endeavor,  we  are  cast  into  outer  darkness ! " 


The  House  of  Landell  105 

He  sank  into  his  chair  and  gripped  the  arms  until 
his  hands  grew  white  and  the  blood  purple  underneath 
the  nails. 

"  Man  makes  such  a  master  as  you  portray,"  said 
his  mother,  firmly.  "  It  is  an  idea  conceived  by  an 
undeveloped  child-race  of  people,  who  believed  in  sav 
ing  themselves  and  adding  to  their  possessions  by  shed 
ding  the  blood  of  any  one  who  interfered  with  their 
self-appointed  ambitions.  They  idealized  the  phan 
tasies  of  an  untrained  imagination  and  voiced  them  in 
terms  fitting  their  child-minds,  as  children  express  their 
understanding  of  principles  by  impersonating  them  as 
giants,  fairies,  bogeys.  To-day,  when  man  has  grown 
beyond  child's  understanding,  such  conceptions  insult 
God  and  degrade  man.  Be  thankful,  Philip!  We 
were  in  desperate  condition  when  these  helpers  came, 
I  know  not  whence  nor  how.  You  were  dying,  alone 
with  me." 

"Dragged  back  to  live  a  mortgaged  life!  Why 
didn't  you  let  me  go ! —  " 

"  You  can  repay." 

"  You  know  I  cannot !  I  am  owned  by  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  who  has  put  a  penny  into  this  fund ! 
They  have  eaten  me  as  they  have  eaten  their  berries, 
and  have  made  a  festival  out  of  me !  They  have  danced 
on  the  battle-field  of  my  lost  independence,  and  offer 
me  the  coppers  paid  for  the  privilege.  The  very  thing 
we  blame  degenerates  for,  we  praise  God  for  doing- 
producing  incapables.  God  has  no  right  to  create  a 
man  without  giving  him  inherent  capacity  for  taking 
care  of  himself  !  " 

"  So  He  does  create  him !  " 

"  Tossed  into  a  worjd  to  which  I  never  wanted  to 
come,  and  left  here, — a  pauper!  " 

"  No  soul  ever  came  without  its  own  will  and  choice, 
on  a  quest  of  its  own  seeking." 


106  The  House  of  Landell 

Mrs.  Herman  spoke  without  antagonism;  but  with 
childlike  directness. 

"  I  \    A  minister !    I  am  a  travesty  on  the  word !  " 

"  To  that  I  must  agree,  if  you  portray  to  others  no 
nobler  conception  than  you  are  showing  me.  So  long 
as  you  believe  in  a  Being  who  dispenses  food  and  drink 
like  a  slaveholder  in  the  shambles,  so  long  will  your 
idea  of  the  heavenly  state  be  on  a  plane  of  material 
comfort.  If  you  think  of  Him  as  an  external  personal 
ruler,  spiritual  gain  will  mean  to  you  only  material 
preferment." 

"  I  have  tried  to  believe  He  is  other  than  that ;  but 
facts  bear  out —  " 

"  In  every  new  relation  of  life — and  you  know  this 
— our  concept  of  God  is  readjusted.  Not  the  already 
manifest;  but  the  Spirit  Potency  is  true  measure  of 
yourself." 

"  That  is  balderdash !  Nero  and  Claudius  were 
worthy  creations  of  such  a  Maker." 

"  '  Be  still,  and  know  that  I  Am  God! '  " 

He  moved  restively. 

She  repeated  softly, 

"  '  Be  still,  and  know  that  I  Am  God! '  " 

A  hush  stole  over  the  room,  and  deepened  into  si 
lence.  After  a  long  while,  Mrs.  Herman  spoke. 

"  God  is  the  potential  of  all  things.  He  seems  to 
you  a  changeable  person,  because  that  is  all  you  are 
now  capable  of  understanding.  The  real  God  awaits 
your  recognition.  Do  you  choose  to  make  friends  in 
stead  with  the  imperfect  concept  of  your  own  con 
ceiving?  Past  the  outer  courts  of  consciousness,  deep 
in  your  Holy  of  Holies,  you  will  find  the  Presence! 
'  Be  still  and  know  that  I  Am  God ! '  " 

There  was  a  long,  long  silence ;  then  Philip  rose  and 
groped  like  a  blind  man  to  the  bed,  where  he  lay  mo 
tionless.  The  sun  crept  higher  in  the  heavens,  then 


The  House  of  Landell 


107 


down  into  the  forest.  Great  shadows  thrust  out  fin 
gers,  clutching  at  the  darkling  spaces  of  the  room. 
Long  arms  stretched  into  the  apartment  as  the  spectres 
of  the  darkness  gathered  and  filled  the  silent  house. 
There  was  no  moon;  there  were  no  stars;  there  was 
no  sound  upon  the  lonely  hillside  save  the  low  bugle 
call  of  the  wind,  as,  stealthily,  it  scouted  among  the 
gathering  clouds,  summoning  its  cohorts  in  the  sky. 

Two  weeks  later,  Agnes  and  her  father  were  on  their 
way,  in  a  little  road  cart,  to  the  Hermans'. 

"  I  am  ashamed  to  meet  them ! "  Agnes'  face 
was  tense  with  remorse.  "  I  tried  to  help  them,  and 
see  what  terrible  conditions  I  have  precipitated  upon 
them.  I  do  not  seem  to  have  the  slightest  idea  how 
to  be  helpful." 

"  That  is  no  easy  thing  to  know,"  said  her  father 
tenderly. 

"  I  might  have  had  more  discernment  than  to  put 
two  gentlepeople  on  a  par  with  the  bread  line.  Apart 
from  the  resulting  sensationalism,  in  which  I,  as  well 
as  they,  have  suffered,  it  was  unforgivable  in  me.  I 
shall  never  get  over  it,  and  I  do  not  see  how  they  can." 

"  Need  is  a  great  leveler.  The  wisest  minds  rarely 
have  been  able  to  rise  superior  to  its  specific  gravity." 

"  You  never  make  a  spectacle  of  any  case." 

"  I  may  have  done  so  at  your  age." 

"  How  beautifully  you  have  recognized  their  self- 
respect,  even  after  I  nearly  demolished  it.  In  the  quiet 
est  manner  possible — I  don't  believe  you  asked  a  ques 
tion — I  don't  see  how  you  do  it — you  found  the  son 
to  be  an  ordained  preacher,  a  brilliant  speaker  and  of 
irreproachable  character,  as  well  as  of  my  communion. 
You  recalled  the  departure  of  Mr.  Kerrick  and  the 
thing  was  done.  You  have  succeeded  in  placing  him 
in  the  very  town  where  my  indiscretion  humiliated  him, 


io8  The  House  of  Landell 

and  he  is  given  opportunity  to  redeem  himself.  You 
are  wonderful !  " 

Mr.  Landell  smiled. 

"  Tell  me,  how  can  you  be  on  such  loving  terms  with 
members  of  the  church  that  so  nearly  wrecked  your 
life?" 

"  Because  I  realize  that  they  saved  me  to  myself. 
Look  at  the  clouds !  We  must  hasten  or  be  drenched." 

"  I  cannot  meet  them !  Yet,  I  must !  I  am  glad  to 
be  under  your  wing — 

"  Under  the  wing  of  the  Almighty,  Agnes,  which 
broods  over  your  own  heart !  And,  dear,  by  no  means 
bear  with  you  an  atmosphere  of  self-condemnation. 
That  checks  comradeship  at  once." 

He  put  the  horse  to  a  quick  trot,  and,  as  the  first 
drops  fell,  they  drew  up  to  the  cottage  door. 

"  Just  in  time,  Mrs.  Herman!  "  He  threw  the  reins 
about  the  whip,  preparatory  to  leading  the  horse  to  the 
little  shed  in  the  rear.  "  The  clouds  have  been  chasing 
us  for  the  last  half  hour,  and  here  comes  the  deluge." 

As  he  spoke,  lightning,  in  a  series  of  blinding  flashes, 
rent  the  masses  of  inky  clouds,  and  long  and  repeated 
reverberations  of  thunder  heralded  the  downpour. 

Within,  the  incisive  sound  of  the  falling  rain  was 
softened,  and  the  odor  of  the  refreshed  forest  mould 
was  wafted  in  energizing  pungence  through  the  house. 

"If  you  like  storms,  you  will  find  a  splendid  view 
from  this  window,"  suggested  Philip. 

The  latent  strength  of  the  man  was  asserting  it 
self;  but  his  face  reflected  an  almost  impenetrable 
gloom. 

Agnes  approached  the  window  and,  because  he  was 
her  host,  he  stood  beside  her. 

The  sun  seemed  to  rest  upon  the  hilltops,  above 
which  radiated  arch  after  arch  of  light.  Through  the 
rain,  the  sun's  rays  sprayed  out  in  pennons,  refracting 


The  House  of  Landell  109 

prismatic  colors,  and  the  clouds  were  tinged  with 
roseate-copper  hues.  Forked  and  chain  lightning 
darted  in  every  direction,  while  ribboned  scrolls  of  fire 
unfurled  golden  lengths  in  great  and  sweeping  swirls 
across  the  sky.  Ploughing  through  the  sunbeams  they 
shot  into  the  heart  of  a  double  rainbow,  then  plunged 
into  the  near-by  stream. 

"  Sunshine  and  shadow,"  she  meditated,  forcing 
herself  to  act  on  her  father's  advice  but  realizing  that 
she  was  far  from  succeeding. 

"  To  a  marked  degree,"  he  responded  coldly,  while 
deep  lines  between  his  eyebrows  evidenced  his  enforced 
submission  to  conditions. 

"A  bit  bromidic,  I  acknowledge,"  sensing  his  an 
tagonism  and  stung  by  it,  feeling,  as  she  could  not  fail 
to  do,  the  heaviness  of  her  remark. 

In  nervous  endeavor  to  recoup,  she  continued  to  talk 
irrelevantly,  for  her  sake  trying  to  save  what  she  felt 
was  a  horrible  situation,  and  for  his  relief  endeavor 
ing  to  bestow  comfort  through  parable. 

"  Everything  I  see  turns  my  thoughts  toward  solving 
life's  problems.  The  law  of  association  impels  me  to 
acknowledge  the  '  doctrine  of  concords  and  discords ' 
and  to  study  the  'just  adaptation  of  parts  with  each 
other.'  " 

A  tree  near  the  house  crashed  to  the  earth,  and,  fol 
lowing  the  surge  of  wind  that  felled  it,  peal  after  peal 
of  thunder  echoed  among  the  hills,  to  be  caught  and 
tossed  from  cloud  to  cloud.  Electricity  flashed  mo 
mentarily,  and  the  rain  fell  in  oblique  and  blinding 
sheets. 

"  Like  life,  this  storm  brings  sunshine  and  tempest 
into  harmony,"  Agnes  continued.  "  Now,  it  is  de 
veloping  the  motif,  Suffering.  The  first  movement 
was  an  adagio,  through  the  sunshine  singing  to  the 
heart  that  suffering  is  unnecessary.  Then,  through  the 


no  The  House  of  Landell 

advancing  and  the  receding  clouds,  there  stole  a  fugue 
movement,  sounding,  in  the  reiterant  dripping  of  the 
rain,  that  suffering  is  ever  present.  The  scherzo  of  the 
lightning  and  the  wind  stir  wilder  harmonies,  singing 
that  through  sorrow  we  come  into  illumination.  Now, 
the  tempest  sings  the  motif  far  above  the  emotional 
and  the  sentimental,  far  above  feeling,  balancing  the 
relationship  of  parts  with  parts,  in  constant  readjust 
ment  with  the  whole  of  universal  life." 

Taking  a  deep  breath  of  the  invigorating  air,  she 
moved  reluctantly,  that  Philip  might  close  the  win 
dow  to  the  raging  storm.  The  sound  of  the  downpour 
came  to  them  muffled  now,  but  still  terrifying,  and  the 
wind  shook  the  cottage  to  its  foundations. 

"  *  The  elements  rage  together  to  attain  the  liberty 
of  God ! '  "  he  repeated  meditatively. 

Agnes  started.  A  burning  sting  preceded  the  suf 
fusion  of  her  eyes  with  tears,  as  her  favorite  text  came 
through  the  sounding  tempest  from  his  heart  to  hers. 
She  throbbed  with  joy,  at  once  oblivious  to  all  else, 
as  the  phrase  limned  on  her  mind  a  picture  of  the  time, 
when,  all  humanity,  having  passed  through  ignorance 
and  dogma,  should  attain  to  the  liberty  of  God,  of 
which,  so  often  and  so  long,  she  had  dreamed.  In 
these  moments  of  her  seraphic  vision,  she  was  almost 
brutally  unconscious  of  another's  thought,  as  well  as 
of  tragedies  enacted  before  her,  as,  at  other  moments, 
when,  the  seer  merged  in  the  woman,  she  was  acute 
to  every  pain  that  swept  through  others'  hearts. 
Often,  too,  she  was  inundated  with  invisible  approach- 
ments,  and,  ignorant  of  the  cause  of  her  distemper, 
was  equally  ignorant  of  means  for  her  protection. 

While  the  tree  was  quivering  with  the  impetus  of 
its  fall,  lightning  filled  the  air,  followed,  instantly,  by 
a  crash  of  thunder.  The  little  shed  was  rent,  and  the 
cart  within  shattered  by  the  bolt.  With  a  snort  of 


The  House  of  Landell  in 

t 

fright,  the  horse  fell,  and  the  occupants  of  the  room 
were  shocked  back  from  the  windows,  for  the  moment, 
stunned.  Then  their  blood  bounded,  as  they  '  inhaled 
the  spirit  of  the  shaft.'  Sparks  flew  from  the  irons  at 
the  fireplace  and  shot  from  the  metal  fastenings  on  the 
window  frames. 

"  That  bolt  struck  near  by !  "  Mr.  Landell,  who 
was  the  first  to  recover,  assured  himself  of  the  safety 
of  his  companions,  then  swept  the  view  without. 
There,  struggling  from  the  ground  where  she  had  been 
thrown,  was  the  horse.  Even  as  his  eyes  took  in  the 
situation,  he  saw  her,  with  staring  eyes  and  arching 
neck,  bounding  toward  home,  each  crash  adding  to 
her  terror  and  speed. 

At  the  same  instant,  Agnes  called  excitedly, 

"  Father,  Jetty  is  leaping  down  the  road.  She  will 
be  killed." 

"  I  think  not.  Doubtless,  she  is  making  for  her 
stall.  Now,  how  about  our  getting  home  ?  The  storm 
is  spending  itself  and  we  should  be  not  too  far  behind 
the  horse,  lest  your  mother  be  alarmed." 

Even  as  the  frightened  but  uninjured  creature  dis 
appeared  round  a  bend  in  the  road,  the  rain  lessened, 
dropping  with  a  gentle  tinkle  betokening  its  cessation. 
As  Mr.  Landell  spoke,  the  sun  shone  upon  the  still  fall 
ing  rain-drops.  Ruby,  green,  and  gold  shot  from  the 
rain  prisms  in  the  air  and  flashed  upon  the  grass  and 
leaves. 

"  A  fairy  land  of  beauty!  " 

In  rapture,  she  opened  the  casement. 

"  Mr.  Herman,  I  must  tell  you,  this  minute,  what  I 
came  purposely  to  express  to  you, — our  joy  that  you 
are  coming  to  speak  to  us  of  the  liberty  of  God." 

"  We  are  fortunate,  for  here  is  a  carriage."  Mr. 
Landell  turned  from  the  window  from  which  he  had 


U2  The  House  of  Landell 

been  watching  the  road.  "If  the  occupants  can  take 
us  in  we  shall  reach  home  nearly  as  soon  as  Jetty." 

"  It  is  Grace  Herrick !  Grace,  let  us  go  home  with 
you?"  Agnes  signaled  the  passing  carriage. 

"How  came  you  here,  you  beneficent  fairy?"  she 
continued,  as,  after  adieux,  the  father  and  daughter 
entered  their  friend's  vehicle  and  started  down  the 
mountain  side.  "  Did  you  see  anything  of  Jetty  on  the 
way?" 

"  I  saw  a  horse  trotting  comfortably  along  just  be 
low  here.  If  I  had  known  it  was  yours,  I  should  have 
been  frightened  to  death.  What  has  happened  ?  " 

Graphically,  Agnes  described  the  occurrence,  but  it 
was  plain  that  after  the  first  burst  of  inquiry  Grace  lost 
interest,  seeing  which,  she  changed  to  personalities, 
whereupon  Grace  brightened  perceptibly. 

"  How  is  it  that  you  are  way  out  in  the  country,  yet 
show  no  signs  of  having  been  in  a  storm?  " 

"  We  stopped  at  a  farm-house  through  the  worst  of 
it,  then  when  it  cleared  I  could  not  bear  to  go  back 
to  that  stuffy  little  hotel  so  I  told  James  to  drive  on  up 
here.  There  is  always  something  languorously  excit 
ing  about  passing  that  shooting  box  with  the  chance  of 
seeing  Adonis  at  the  window  doing  nothing,  and  '  I 
a  princess,  king  descended '  sweeping  the  doorstep. 
About  time,  I  say,  for  Adonis  to  be  handling  the  broom 
and  '  I  a  princess,'  to  be  doing  nothing.  Smell  the 
sweet  briar,  as  the  wheels  brush  against  it." 

"  It  seems  to  take  bruising  to  express  sweetness  from 
plants  as  well  as  persons." 

"  Don't  you  grow  tired  following  your  metaphors 
and  similes  about  ?  You  remind  me  of  an  aunt.  When 
she  had  anything  special  to  do,  she'd  take  a  siesta  to 
prepare  for  it.  I've  seen  her  lie  down  to  compose  her 
self  before  starting  for  a  train  she  was  afraid  she 
would  miss." 


The  House  of  Landell  113 

"  Most  of  us  have  some  eccentric  relation."  Smil 
ingly,  Agnes  thought  of  her  Cousin  Matilda.  "  But  I 
am  not  like  your  aunt, — I  rush  into  things." 

"  You  see  I  am  not  capable  of  going  off  on  side- 
journeys  to  make  points  that  can  be  followed.  You 
•aren't,  either,  if  you  do  think  you  are.  I  mean,  that, 
whatever  any  one  says,  at  once  you  go  off  on  a  tortuous 
journey  of  your  own,  instead  of  keeping  to  the  straight 
line.  One  can't  say  you  don't  stick  to  the  subject,  for 
you  do;  but  you  try  to  find  some  great  lesson  that 
never  was  there  to  find,  and  that  nobody  meant.  If 
you  were  not  so  self-centred,  you'd  see  I  am  heart 
broken.  Now,  what  are  you  thinking  about  ?  Do  you 
suppose  you  are  keeping  still,  because  you  are  not  talk 
ing?  Your  thoughts  talk  louder  than  words!  They 
fairly  scream ! " 

"  I  haven't  seen  Mr.  Vernon  with  you  for  some 
time,"  said  Agnes,  suddenly,  not  noticing  the  unjust 
thrust.  "  What  has  become  of  him  ?  " 

"  I — I —  "  Grace's  control,  over  which  she  had  very 
indifferent  hold,  left  her  completely,  "  I  sent  him 
away." 

"  Away !  Aren't  you  engaged  to  be  married  to 
him?" 

"  Come  up-stairs  and  I'll  tell  you  about  it!  " 

As  the  horse  drew  up  before  the  hotel  entrance, 
Grace  alighted  quickly  and  ran  to  her  room. 

"  Father,"  Agnes  waited  a  moment  before  follow 
ing  her  friend,  "  Grace  wants  to  speak  to  me  about 
something  of  special  importance  to  her.  Won't  you 
drive  on  to  relieve  mother's  concern  by  the  sight  of 
your  blessed  face?  I'll  be  home  soon,"  and,  alight 
ing,  she  sought  Grace. 

"  What  a  difference  there  is  in  women,"  mused  Dr. 
Brentford,  who  from  under  the  hemlocks  had  seen 
the  two  alight.  "  April's  child,  as  the  Herrick  nymph 


H4  The  House  of  Landell 

names  herself,  is  all  the  time  on  the  trail  for  the  hearts 
and  pocket-books  of  a  possible  husband  in  every  one 
she  sees;  and  Agnes  Landell,  the  goddess,  who  sees 
no  heart,  no  purse,  no  husband  in  any  of  them,  passes 
by  a  long  train  of  admirers,  and  knows  them,  if  at 
all,  only  as  motes  moving  between  her  and  the  sun." 

Discontentedly,  he  watched  Agnes  out  of  sight  then 
morosely  turned  to  his  book,  though  his  fancy  lin 
gered  with  her  rather  than  with  the  printed  page. 

Agnes  found  Grace  on  the  bed,  sobbing  bitterly. 

"  What  is  it?  "  she  asked,  sympathetically. 

"  I  mean  this !  "  Grace  struggled  to  a  sitting  pos 
ture,  hunting,  nervously,  for  her  pins,  for  she  had 
thrown  herself  into  her  recumbent  position,  hat  and 
all. 

"  Horace  Vernon  thinks  he  is  too  good  to  marry  me 
and  I  told  him  he  could  go  find  an  angel,  for  that  was 
the  only  sort  of  creature  that  could  live  with  him.  Give 
me  a  man  of  the  world!  They  know  women!  I  told 
him  so  one  day,  and  he  retorted  that  I  was  a  child,  and 
didn't  know  what  I  was  talking  about — that  he  thanked 
God  he  was  clean — as  if  I  would  look  at  him  if  he 
wore  dusty  clothes  and  the  same  necktie  two  days  in 
succession.  He  was  dreadfully  angry  and  dared  criti 
cize  my  views  of  life — he  called  them — as  if  I  were 
a  moving-picture  film. 

"  After  I  sent  him  away,  he  tried  and  tried  to  see 
me  and  wrote  and  wrote.  He  loved  me,  he  said, — 
just  didn't  care  for  all  I  cared  for — as  if  husbands 
were  expected  to  like  everything  wives  like — and  al 
ways  were  to  be  pleased  with  them.  I  sent  his  last 
letter  back  unopened — that  is,  I  steamed  it  open,  and 
read  it  and  sealed  it  again — I  love  him  so  I  can't  bear 
not  to  read  every  word  he  writes;  but  I  wouldn't  for 
the  world  let  him  know  it.  At  last  he  went  away  and 
I  can't  bear  it — I  can't  bear  it !  " 


The  House  of  Landell  115 

"What  was  the  final  break  about?  " 

"  Bridge  and  clothes  and  everything !  He  said  he 
didn't  mind  the  things  I  did,  so  much  as  my  way  of 
looking  at  them — and  that  my  whole  view  of  life  was 
low !  "' 

"  Did  he  say  just  that  ?  Horace  Vernon  is  a  gentle 
man,  even  if  he  is  not  a  very  diplomatic  lover." 

"  He  did  not  put  it  exactly  that  way;  but  it  is  what 
he  meant!  He  wants  a  constantly  exalted  state  of 
mind  in  me,  and  I  couldn't  stand  tiptoe  to  that  sort 
of  thing.  We  never  did  at  home!  Why,  I  have 
heard  my  mother  tell  the  funniest  jokes!  Think  of 
always  having  to  hush  when  Horace  appeared !  " 

"  Wouldn't  they  amuse  him  too?  " 

"  What  a  child  you  are!  When  a  group  of  women 
tell  jokes,  no  men  are  allowed.  I  couldn't  even  have 
the  fun  of  repeating  them,  he'd  be  so  scandalized. 
Alice  Reynolds  had  to  put  her  head  down  on  the  table 
while  she  was  telling  one  at  Angie  Hay  bridge's  lun 
cheon.  Horace  would  think  that  was  awful !  " 

"  So  would  any  decent  person !  " 

"  I  like  that !  I  was  one  of  the  women  and  I  con 
sider  myself  very  decent!  "  Grace  was  on  fire  in  an 
instant.  "  I  have  the  best  blood  of  France  and  Amer 
ica  in  my  veins !  " 

"  You  won't  have  it  long  if  you  pollute  it  with  such 
poisonous  food  and  vile  atmosphere." 

"  I  don't  understand  you !  I  eat  very  good  food 
except  when  I  am  in  this  hole  of  a  hotel,  and  as  for 
atmosphere ! — that  is  one  of  the  things  Horace  fussed 
with  me  about.  Dr.  Bland  prayed  for  atmosphere  one 
Sunday  when  we  went  to  church  together  and  I  sput 
tered.  What  a  thing  to  pray  for;  but  when  I  said 
so,  Horace  looked  as  if  I  had  stuck  a  pin  in  him,  and 
said  in  a  tone,  for  all  the  world  like  the  Merry  Widow's 
beau,  '  You  don't  understand ! '  He  is  right !  I  don't ! 


n6  The  House  of  Landell 

It  isn't  that  I  want  to  quarrel  with  his  ideas,  I  truly 
don't  know  what  he  means!  I  can't  imagine  what  he 
found  in  me  to  start  with,  excepting  that  I  am  pretty 
and,  until  I  got  him  to  propose,  pretended  I  under 
stood  him.  I  can  look  very  soulful  as  long  as  I  open 
my  eyes  wide  and  keep  my  mouth  shut;  but  after  I 
got  him  and  began  to  open  my  mouth,  it  was  different. 
Can't  you  say  something,  Agnes !  You  are  so  cold !  " 

"  Cold !  My  heart  is  fairly  boiling  with  love  for 
everybody !  " 

'That  is  just  it!  You  love  by  the  wholesale! 
Never  even  have  job  lots  on  which  to  expend  a  little 
attention ! " 

"  It  is  all  one  love — the  love  of  the  Father.  We 
have  more  affection  and  expression  toward  some ;  but 
it  is  all  one  love !  " 

'  You  must  have  a  lot  of  affection  for  me,  with  my 
gambling  devil's  auction  and  low  jokes !  "  cried  Grace 
in  a  frenzy.  "  Don't  stand  there,  looking  at  me !  Can't 
you  do  something?  " 

Alas  for  Agnes !  From  the  exaltation  roused  in  her 
by  the  wonderful  display  of  nature's  powers;  by  the 
preservation  of  her  loved  ones  and  herself  from  phys 
ical  danger,  and  by  the  foretaste  of  spiritual  release, 
she  was  hurled  into  an  agonizing  mystification.  She 
cold!  She,  who  longed  to  take  all  humanity  to  her 
sister  heart  and  minister  to  it!  However,  in  the  out 
wardly  passive  fashion  which  often  admits  of  greater 
impression  on  the  mind,  she  put  aside  Grace's  accusa 
tion  to  contend  with  in  the  night  watches,  and  applied 
herself,  as  best  she  knew,  to  soothing  the  excited  girl, 
who  clung  convulsively  to  her. 

"  I  can't  bear  it !  I  love  Horace  Vernon  dearly ;  but 
why  does  he  want  me  to  give  up  the  world !  " 

"  He  doesn't !  Horace  Vernon  is  a  healthy-minded 
fellow.  I  don't  believe  he  ever  uttered  that  canting 


The  House  of  Landell  117 

phrase !  I  am  sure  his  idea  is,  rather,  to  find  the  world, 
in  all  its  purity  and  happiness  and  power." 

"  I  don't  in  the  least  know  what  you  are  talking 
about.  I  wish  you  would  comfort  me!  " 

"  Let  me  go  to  him  and  tell  him  how  you  feel.  He 
is  not  the  prig  you  believe  him  to  be,  I  am  sure.  Don't 
let  pride  interfere  with  the  happiness  of  a  lifetime." 

"  Something  worse  than  that  is  in  my  way." 

Paroxysms  of  grief  shook  Grace's  slender  frame, — 

"  I  have  promised  to  marry  Jack  Jenkins." 

"  You  know  absolutely  nothing  about  the  man !  "  ex 
claimed  Agnes  in  horror.  "  He  is  more  than  old 
enough  to  be  your  father!  What  possessed  you, 
Grace?  You  haven't  seen  him  lately,  for  he  never 
comes  here  summers.  How  did  it  happen  ?  " 

"  I  went  home  for  a  few  days  while  you  were 
sick—  " 

"  Not  sick — resting —  " 

"  Whatever  you  call  it  then !  It  looks  powerful  like 
sick  to  us  uninitiated  ones  when  you  can't  see  any  one 
and  everybody  acts  as  if  you  were  dying —  " 

"  About  Jenkins — tell  me  ?  " 

"  You  know  he  is  a  fascinating  man  and,  when  I 
went  home,  I  went  over  to  see  your  Aunt  Luella.  He 
was  there  attending  to  her  business.  It  was  raining, 
I  had  no  umbrella  and  he  saw  me  home  and  seemed 
to  understand  how  lonely  I  was.  That  night  I  got 
an  awfully  prissy  letter  from  Horace,  and,  just  after 
I  had  read  it  Jack  came  with  a  message  from  your  aunt 
and  I  went  over  there  with  him  and — oh  he  understood 
so  well — that's  the  whole  secret,  I  suspect, — Agnes. 
He  understands  me  lots  better  than  you  do,  and 
then- 

'  The  old  story !  I  see.  Break  with  him,  at  once. 
You  gave  your  word  to  Horace,  first." 

"  I  can't !  "  in  agonized  whisper. 


ii8  The  House  of  Landell 

Agnes'  face  grew  white.  She  looked  intently  into 
her  friend's  frightened  face. 

"Why  not?" 

"  Because,"  the  girl  was  too  convulsed  to  speak 
aloud,—  "  I  was  so  afraid  I  wouldn't  keep  my  word, 
I — have — married  him — already !  " 

"  Married  Jack  Jenkins !  " 

An  anguish,  almost  equal  to  Grace's  own,  dawned 
on  her  face. 

"  Grace,  Grace,  my  little  child,  what  have  you 
done!" 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Let  the  sunlight  of  your  heart  shine  upon  the 
roses  of  your  endeavor  and  nurture  them  into 
perfection  in  the  gardens  of  the  world. 

"  '  TRANSMUTE  the  mind's  rebellion  into  outer  pur 
poses,  for  no  having  of  any  worth  can  come  of  mean 
or  inconsequential  being/  "  mused  Agnes,  as,  writing 
pad  in  hand,  she  walked  into  the  park,  and,  coming  to 
an  upland  near  the  vineyard,  emerged  from  the  shadow 
of  the  trees,  and  settled  herself  upon  the  hillside.  "  I 
believe  that,  yet  what  a  pother  I  make  proving  it." 

For  half  an  hour  she  wrote.  Then,  reaching  the 
climax  of  a  sketch  she  was  penning,  she  read  aloud 
the  closing  lines. 

"  From  her  seat  in  the  empyrean,  Truth,  Alicia  looked  down 
into  the  great  world,  where  people  moved  to  and  fro  like  clouds, 
tossing,  hurrying,  skurrying,  changing  with  every  wind  of  opin 
ion  ;  disintegrating  and  piling  themselves  together  in  new  affilia 
tions,  with  every  passing  wave  of  influence.  Again  and  again, 
as  one  and  another  struggled  within  her  reach,  she  held  out  her 
hand  to  help  them.  Great  was  her  perplexity  and  grief  when 
they  refused  her  aid,  which  would  bear  them  beyond  their  pres 
ent  turmoil,  and  accepted  that  of  another  far  less  able  than  she 
to  help.  As  she  watched,  the  Christ-consciousness  unfolded 
within  her,  and  through  it,  she  perceived  the  law  of  growth. 
She  realized  the  spiritual  intent  within  the  physical  hand  that 
would  extend  in  aid.  She  saw  that  no  one  was  helping  another 
indiscriminately;  that  one  who  seemed  near  to  her  often  was 
afar  and  beyond  her  power  of  assistance,  and  that  one  who 
seemed  afar  was  at  her  very  soul ;  that  while  her  hand  was  held 

119 


120  The  House  of  Landell 

out  in  obedience  to  her  slogan,  helpfulness,  it  was  given  and 
clasped,  only  through  the  understanding  of  need,  not  through 
propinquity  or  time  or  space. 

"  Two  drunken  men  lurched  upon  a  curbstone,  near  each 
other  and  equally  near  to  her.  One,  willing  and  ready  to  ascend 
out  of  the  whirling  cloud  life  of  shapes  took  the  hand  she  ex 
tended;  the  other,  just  as  close,  was  far  away.  His  hand  could 
not  touch  hers,  nor  hers  touch  his,  because,  in  him  was  no  desire 
to  see  the  visions  of  the  soul.  She  saw  there  was  no  struggle, 
neither  any  strife  in  all  this  seeming  conflict  and  confusion. 
She  became  conscious  that  the  sea  and  sky,  yes,  even  the  cloud- 
land  of  shapes  and  forms  were  full  of  an  exceeding  glory  and 
that  the  universe  sang  praises  as  it  had  always  done,  though, 
until  now,  she  had  not  been  conscious  of  the  harmony  playing 
through  seeming  dissonance.  She  was  hand  in  hand  with  Divine 
Love  and  all  the  worlds  and  all  the  firmaments  joined  in  the 
grand  paean  of  praise,  '  Where  the  Lord  is,  is  Rest.  ..." 

"  How  true  it  is,"  she  let  her  pen  drop  idly  to  her 
lap,  "  that  no  one  can  help  one  not  ready  to  receive. 
How  clearly  this  defines  the  word,  secrecy.  There  is 
no  such  thing  as  premeditated  secrecy.  No  one  can 
keep  from  another  that  to  which  his  consciousness  has 
attained." 

Long  she  sat  in  the  midst  of  the  sylvan  beauty,  trav 
eling  beyond  physical  boundaries,  as  her  mind  followed 
her  train  of  thought  logically  through  many  windings. 
Suddenly,  an  expression  of  purpose  flashed  into  her 
face.  Rising,  she  ran  swiftly  down  the  hill  to  the  park 
road,  and  stood  at  the  dividing  line  of  grass  and  fir 
needles  and  cones. 

Her  head  was  lifted  as  if  focussing  her  activities. 
Then  she  moved  swiftly  into  a  little  footpath.  After 
rapid  walking,  quickened,  often,  to  a  run,  she  reached 
the  crown  of  a  hillock  overlooking  a  hollow  filled  with  a 
noble  growth  of  hemlocks.  The  amphitheatre  on  one 
side  opened  on  a  morass, — the  overflow  of  the  lake. 
At  this  point,  by  means  of  a  turf-covered  bridge,  the 


The  House  of  Landell  121 

roadway  made  a  continuous  circuit  close  to  the  water's 
edge.  On  the  inner  side,  toward  the  morass,  was  a 
wall  covered  with  clematis.  Standing  on  the  stone 
work,  reaching,  on  tiptoe,  for  long  sprays  of  the  snowy 
bloom,  was  Ross  Mevin. 

"Jump  back  into  the  driveway,  for  your  life!  "  she 
called. 

Recognizing  authority  in  the  order,  Mevin  obeyed. 
Then  he  looked  for  the  speaker  and  the  cause  for 
the  command.  The  latter  was  imminent.  A  rattle 
snake  was  striking  its  fangs  into  the  spot  where  he  had 
stood,  while  the  echo  of  the  rattle,  which  he  had  not 
heard  above  the  rustle  of  the  foliage,  came  to  him 
now  with  appalling  distinctness. 

"  That  was  Agnes  Landell,"  he  thought,  as  he  seized 
a  weapon.  "  Does  she  send  the  message  from  her  soul 
or  is  she  close  to  me  in  very  flesh !  " 

The  snake  was  in  its  death  throes  when  Agnes  ap 
peared. 

"Are  you  safe?"  she  gasped.  "Oh,  if  you  had 
not  jumped, — I  cannot  bear  to  think  of  it." 

"  Willingly  would  I  be  within  reach  of  a  serpent's 
fangs  to  win  such  light  from  your  eyes,  dear  heart," 
he  said  passionately,  quickly  compassing  the  space  be 
tween  them. 

A  second  time  she  was  deaf  to  his  heart's  expres 
sion  in  her  gratitude  that  he  was  safe. 

"  How  did  you  happen  here?  " 

He  looked  deep  into  her  eyes,  which  she  had  lifted 
to  his,  unconscious  that  he  held  her  hands. 

"  It  was  not  a  '  happen.'  I  knew  I  must  run  to 
the  morass  and  lose  no  time:  A  second — and  I  should 
have  been  too  late !  " 

Mevin  gave  another  searching  gaze  into  her  face. 
Lingeringly,  he  released  her  hands,  for  her  radiance 
was  the  illumination  of  the  thought  that  she  had  saved 


122  The  House  of  Landell 

a  human  being,  not  her  soul's  love.  He  continued,  a 
trifle  heavily, 

"  That  back  leap  was  the  result  of  six  weeks'  train 
ing  when  a  boy.  I  was  trying  for  a  prize.  To  the 
delight  of  the  boys,  who  said  it  was  given  to  match 
my  hair,  it  proved  to  be  an  enormous  pumpkin.  They 
called  me  Pumpkin-Head  Mevin,  until  I  punched  two 
or  three  of  them." 

Agnes  laughed — a  laugh  that  rang  clear  and  low, 
stirring  the  depths  of  him. 

"  I  am  sure  it  must  have  been  a  very  poor  match," 
she  looked  admiringly  at  the  soft  brown  hair  with 
sunny  gleams  of  bronze  gold  lurking  in  its  waves. 

"  What  do  you  do  with  yourself  ?  "  jealously.  "  You 
are  like  a  fairy  princess  behind  insurmountable  walls. 
May  no  prince  invade  the  sacred  precincts  ?  " 

"  The  right  prince  will." 

Mevin  was  silent.  What  else  was  there  for  him 
to  be,  he  sighed.  These  thrusts  were  certainly  diffi 
cult  to  encounter.  He  did  not  mind  that,  if  only  he 
might  meet  them  successfully.  He  tried  again. 

"  I  have  not  seen  you  since  Saturday — and  here  it 
is  Monday !  " 

Again  she  laughed  and  again  his  being  responded 
to  the  melody. 

"  Are  these  reptiles  seen  here  often?  " 

Turning,  he  looked  at  the  driveway  where  the  snake 
lay. 

'  There  are  a  good  many  on  the  other  side  of  the 
hills.  Occasionally  some  stray  over  here.  Our  beauti 
ful  mastiff,  Basco,  was  bitten  here  not  long  ago.  Oh, 
now  I  know  how  I  was  told  to  come  to  you." 

Mevin  ground  his  teeth.  "  How  soulfully  she  says 
it!  You!  A  mere  human  being." 

Again  he  searched  her  face,  only  to  find  her  stalk 
ing  a  thought  to  cover. 


The  House  of  Landell  123 

"  Perception  unto  realization,  of  course. 

"  Do  you  believe  you  are  one  of  the  elect  ?  "  A  touch 
of  pessimism  clouded  his  bright  face,  followed  by  sin 
cere  inquiry.  "  I  believe  you  are." 

"  Do  you  mean,  am  I  chosen  above  others  who  shall 
be  damned?  Indeed,  no.  One  of  our  attributes,  as 
emanations  of  God,  is  the  will  and  choice  of  our 
every  part.  If  only  I  could  guide  my  choice  instead 
of  being  led,"  she  mused.  "  Too  often  I  am  swayed 
to  and  fro  in  strange  and  terrifying  paths." 

"  What  do  you  know  of  terrors, — you!  "  tenderly. 

Her  face  became  livid. 

"  In  the  midst  of  an  outwardly  care-free  life,  I  see 
tragedy  in  every  leaf — not  merely  to  observe  but  to 
perceive  unto  realization.  I  have  trained  myself  to  tell, 
by  the  cry  of  a  bird,  the  nature  of  the  call, — or  weal  or 
woe;  every  human  heart  throbs  its  message  to  me." 

He  looked  at  her  meditatively. 

"  And  yet  she  does  not  hear  my  cry !  Is  that  course 
wise  ?  "  he  added  aloud.  "  Why  not  perceive  the  sweet 
ness  only  and  let  the  sorrow  pass  ?  " 

"  I  would  not,  then,  beat  to  the  heartbeat  of  human- 
ity." 

"  Sweet  soul,  as  many  need  to  be  laughed  with 
and  played  with  as  prayed  with ;  more  need  to  be  loved 
than  pitied,  and  it  is  a  great  deal  more  invigorating 
to  all." 

"  You  are  quite  right,"  Agnes  continued  with  tan 
talizing  impersonality.  "  It  is  not  so  much  what  hap 
pens  to  us  as  what  we  see  in  it  that  matters.  If,  in 
stead  of  dwelling  on  pain  and  sadness,  I  could  always 
guide  my  mind  from  the  highest  aspects  of  the  case  to 
the  noblest  outcome,  I  could  do  wonderful  things,  as 
when  I  found  the  Hermans  on  Mt.  Nodel —  " 

"  And  saved  my  life — tell  me  about  that?"  Mevin 
was  too  anxious  to  stay  her  thoughts  on  himself  to 


124  The  House  of  Landell 

assist  them  to  stray  to  Philip  Herman.  "  Did  the  run 
to  the  morass  start  with  thoughts  of  me?  " 

"  No,  I  was  thinking  of  the  dog. — Did  you  speak?  " 

"  Not  out  loud,"  meekly.  "  I  am  interested.  How 
do  the  dog  and  I  meet  in  fate's  corridors?  " 

"  Recalling  that  Basco  was  bitten  here,  reminded 
me  of  the  danger  of  the  place  to  others, — such  a  pity 
when  it  is  the  finest  trouting  spot  in  the  region.  That 
led  me  to  think  it  should  be  posted  at  the  hotel. 
I  recalled  that  I  heard  you  inquiring  of  an  hostler  for 
a  good  trouting  brook.  That  led  me  to  notice  that 
this  is  a  perfect  day  for  fishing.  I  perceived  this  as 
sociation  perfectly,  but  then  came  as  a  flash,  *  Run  to 
the  waterway.'  I  did  not  know  I  was  running  to  you." 
"  It  took  some  time  to  get  your  mind  round  to  me," 
he  returned  despondently. 

"  No,  it  lighted  upon  you  instantly  after  the  sum 
mons.  Once  I  called  these  leaps  of  mine  into  the  un 
known,  intuition,  as  if  intuition  were  a  knowledge 
without  a  basis  for  being.  I  am  following  sequences 
intently,  nowadays,  and  trying  to  test  when  these  calls 
are  reliable  and  definite.  It  is  very  interesting — when 
I  can  be  brave  and  keep  away  terrors — and  the  more 
assured  I  am  the  more  clearly  I  perceive." 

Mevin  sighed  exasperatedly. 

"  Does  your  attempt  to  see  beyond  sight  ever  lead 
to  obtuseness  of  the  very  apparent?  "  His  gentle  sar 
casm  wholly  escaped  Agnes  in  her  hunt  for  the  ab 
stract.  Could  he  ever  pierce,  with  the  ordinary  idea  of 
human  love,  this  celestial  cranium  of  his  adored  one! 
Was  it  made  of  bone  fibre  or  of  luminous  ether? 

He  mused,  half  laughing  in  the  midst  of  his  vexa 
tion.  Involuntarily,  he  extended  his  hand  to  trace  the 
contour  beneath  the  beautiful  but  dishevelled  hair  that, 
as  the  result  of  her  flight  through  the  woods,  was  fall 
ing  now  in  shimmering  clouds  about  her  face.  The 


The  House  of  Landell  125 

movement  ended  in  the  gathering  of  the  pins — poor 
exchange,  for  the  taking  of  that  loved  head  to  his 
heart.  Her  soul,  it  seemed,  he  could  never  approach. 

"  I  think  the  gap  in  your  sequence — the  place  where 
you  made  a  leap  instead  of  a  reasoning  analysis — is 
most  unfortunate,"  he  continued,  amused,  despite  his 
disappointment.  "  How  can  you  prove  that  it  was  law 
instead  of  chance  that  led  you  to  me  instead  of  to  an 
other  dog?" 

"  I  followed  the  line  in  which  I  had  been  thinking 
— and  choosing." 

She  stumbled  a  little  and  her  color  deepened  as  she 
realized  that  she  was  contradicting  herself. 

"  Conscious  choice  in  the  visible,  trains  the  intelli 
gence  to  choice  in  what  we  call,  beyond  sight." 

As  Mevin's  heart  bounded  to  meet  this  concession, 
she  felled  it  again  by  saying, 

"  I  wish  I  understood !  I  am  doing  my  best  to  build 
my  life  as  Tom  is  begging  me  to,  by  selecting  my  mo 
tives,  my  visions,  my  activities, — in  short  to  live  with 
conscious  virility  instead  of  unconscious  inhibiting 
through  dissatisfaction  or  regret,  and  after  the  manner 
of  '  automatic  instinct/  that  brings  action  without  com 
mensurate  results,  and  seems  little  more  than  aware 
ness." 

"  Doesn't  so  much  criticism  of  yourself — I  never 
hear  you  criticize  others — 

"  No,  I  would  not  treat  my  friends  as  I  do  my- 
self ,—  " 

"  Why  should  it  be  less  divine  to  help  oneself  than 
others  ? — and,  to  go  back  to  what  I  was  saying,  doesn't 
such  critical  analysis  of  yourself  crush  spontaneity  and 
lead  to  painful  self-consciousness?  "  and  the  two  went 
on  toward  the  Landells'. 

"  No  more  than  the  athlete  by  directed  activity  on 
the  training  ground  inhibits  his  lightning-like  deci- 


126  The  House  of  Landell 

sions  on  the  field  of  action.  It  does  so  far  less  than  my 
conscious  self-condemnation,  after  some  ill-advised 
activities  have  developed  misadventures.  I  agree,  criti 
cism  does  all  you  suggest;  but  Tom  is  trying  to  help 
me  grow  out  of  the  critical,  which  warps,  into  the  in 
terpretative.  I  want  the  ability  to  extend  interpreta 
tion,  intelligently,  instead  of  haphazard,  into  the  realms 
of  intuition  and  true  spiritual  insight." 

"  The  pure  in  heart  shall  see  God,  and  if  they  see 
God  they  see  all.  You  will  see,  eventually,  dear  heart ; 
not  with  the  symbolism  which  is  given  to  the  child 
mind  of  man;  but  evidentially,  through  wisdom; — but 
has  love  for  me  no  part  in  this  vision  which  is 
yours — ?  " 

"  It  is  symbolism  that  I  dread, — I  do.  not  know  how 
to  cope  with  it.  Like  most  physicians  and  scientists 
Tom  thinks  these  are  the  outgrowth  of  physical  con 
ditions.  He  thinks  I  should  develop  my  negative, 
and  then  these — what  I  call  extensions  of  percep 
tion,  and  he  calls  abnormal  sensitiveness, — would  dis 
appear." 

"  Develop  your  negative  ?  "  questioningly  and  not 
approvingly. 

"  Yes ;  but  not  as  the  term  is  often  used." 

"  Certainly  he  does  not  wish  you  to  become  a  de 
pendent  or  a  subjective!  " 

"  Exactly  the  opposite.  I  know  he  thinks  I'm  tend 
ing  toward  the  dependent,  and  wishes  me  to  push 
intelligently  beyond  it ;  but  I  think  he  does  not  wholly 
understand  how  very  close  I  often  am  to  God,  because 
he  sees  me  sometimes  when  I  have  lost  my  vision.  I 
know  I  am  right  often,  for  when  I  see  true,  and  know 
true,  as  I  look  back  I  find  I  was  in  the  peace  that 
passeth  understanding  and  in  the  kingdom  of  right 
eousness, — no  puzzling  or  complexity;  for  the  visions 
of  God  come  not  out  of  waving  clouds." 


The  House  of  Landell  127 

He  looked  at  her  tenderly;  comprehendingly. 

She  went  on. 

"  There  are  things  in  my  experience  I  do  not  at  all 
understand,  but  cannot  deny,  nor  lay  wholly  to  physical 
exhaustion  or  nerves,  as  Tom  might.  I  am  not  sure 
but  that  we  both  are  right, —  " 

"  Certainly,  it  is  wise  to  prepare  the  physique  for 
any  demands  that  may  be  put  upon  it." 

"  One  of  Dr.  Wehr's  prescriptions  is  that  I  do  what 
I  choose  instead  of  what  I  think  I  should." 

"  Are  they  not  the  same  ?  " 

"  Rarely.  I  seem  to  have  an  idea — Tom  thinks  it 
is  from  overstrain — and  I  think  it  is  through  unfold- 
ment  of  soul  forces  that  I  have  not  become  acquainted 
with  and  which  frighten  me, — that  what  I  wish  to  do, 
often  is  wrong.  To  balance  this  mind  action  with 
present  physical  possibilities,  I  am  to  be  more  spon 
taneous  and  less  dutiful,  so  attaining  the  very  results 
you  suggest  such  tutoring  may  check." 

"If  your  physician  gives  that  prescription  to  every 
one,  his  office  must  fail  to  hold  his  patients.  Tell  me 
more." 

"  Dr.  Wehr  says  I  have  forced  my  will  past  the  dic 
tates  of  intelligence  and  reason  until  I  have  lost  the 
use  of  choice,  weakened  my  ability  to  direct  desire, 
lessened  my  vitality,  and  rendered  myself  liable  to  con 
fuse  intuition  with  nerve  disturbance." 

"  Isn't  that  dangerous  training  for  most  of  us?  You 
have  not  a  wish  in  the  world  that  would  harm  any  one ; 
but  many  of  us  have.  What  a  doctrine  for  men  who 
desire  things,  and  all  sorts,  at  that !  It  is  licensing  the 
hosts  of  unbridled  wickedness.  Is  the  doctor  an  advo 
cate  of  the  theory,  that  desire,  not  will,  is  the  motive- 
power  to  be  expressed,  because  repression  increases  the 
strength  of  desire,  and  later,  will  act  more  insistently, 
upon  self  and  posterity?  " 


128  The  House  of  Landell 

"If  you  mean,  does  he  advocate  projecting  experi 
ences  into  one's  life  for  experiences'  sake,  he  does  not. 
He  teaches  intelligence  of  desire,  whose  motor  is  Spirit, 
not  emotionalism,  and  whose  impelling  power  to  at 
tract  its  own  quality  works  in  harmony  with  the  active 
will  to  express  it." 

"  It  seems  a  serious  matter  to  attempt  to  define 
Omniscience  by  the  dictionary  of  our  limited  under 
standings.  Does  the  doctor  ever  tell  you  to  be  angry  if 
you  choose  ? "  he  pursued,  wondering  whether  she 
would  be  more  charming  if  less  theoretical. 

"If  I  choose;  but  my  instruction  leads  me,  rather 
to  '  transmute  the  mind's  rebellion  into  outer  purposes 
of  nobler  stuff.'  I  was  contemplating  that  when  the 
call  came  to  run  to  you." 

"  Would  you  had  been  running  to  me — but  I  am 
never  to  forget  that  I  am  simply  a  human  being  in  your 
world-orbed  eyes.  Do  you  ever  want  to  be  angry?  " 

"  Often,  especially  when  the  electrostatic  potentials 
of  the  atmosphere — 

"The  what?" 

"  The  electrostatic  potentials —  " 

"  I  heard  you  the  first  time ;  I  want  to  see  you  form 
those  words  with  that  exquisite  Cupid's  bow  of  a 
mouth,"  he  returned,  daringly. 

A  sudden  gloom  swept  to  her  eyes  and  seemed  to 
encircle  him  with  her  displeasure. 

"  I  wish  you  would  want  to  be  angry,"  continued 
the  wily  Mevin,  delighted  with  his  success.  "  At  least 
she  heard  that,"  he  comforted  himself.  "  Could  you 
be  angry  on  provocation?  Let  go  of  yourself  for  a 
minute,  and  fire  about  bricks.  You  are  so  awfully 
good,  you  induce  electrostatic  potentials  in  others' 
atmospheres.  Tell  me,  were  you  ever  angry  or  un 
wise?" 

Agnes  stood  still.     A  transformation  took  place 


The  House  of  Landell  129 

within  her  as  if  a  garden  rose  had  become  a  deadly 
nightshade.  Her  personality  was  infused  with  the 
poison  of  a  remorse-bearing  thought.  Mevin  was  ap 
palled. 

"  Why  ask  me  that?  "  she  said  slowly.  "  '  An  evil 
memory  promptly  antagonizes  the  functioning  of  the 
good  memories,  slowly  poisoning,  not  only  the  body 
in  which  memory  is  incorporate,  but  memory  itself.' 
Yes,  once,  in  a  rage,  I  tried  to  stab  my  nurse  with  a 
penknife,  then  was  barely  prevented  from  setting  fire 
to  the  barn." 

"  You  do  go  to  extremes,"  Mevin  was  startled. 
"  Surely,  I  should  agree  with  your  brother  that  that 
was  nerves  and  no  part  of  you.  Anything  else  ?  " 

"  I  punched  my  doll's  eyes  out  with  a  pair  of  scis 
sors." 

An  agony  of  self-condemnation  changed  the  despair- 
permeated  goddess  of  a  moment  before. 

Mevin  burst  into  irrepressible  laughter.  The  anti 
climax,  from  a  truly  diabolical  outburst  to  a  fit  of  baby 
petulance,  and  the  equality  of  her  remorse  over  both 
incidents,  appealed  to  him  as  overwhelmingly  funny. 

"  You  need  not  laugh,"  she  said,  mournfully. 
"  There  was  murder  in  my  heart  when  I  did  it." 

Suddenly,  she  surprised  Mevin  by  sinking  to  the 
ground  and  dropping  her  head  into  her  hands. 

"  Do  you  really  suppose  it  was  you?  " 

He  asked  this,  looking  down  at  her  in  an  attitude  of 
almost  fierce  protection. 

Agnes  sat  upright.     Her  eyes  blazed  with  terror. 

"  I  have  always  supposed  so,"  she  gasped.  "  Do  you 
mean — ?  " 

"  Was  there  no  one  near  you — behind  you — who 
disliked  some  one  also  near  you  ?  "  he  insisted,  his  at 
titude  of  mental  protection  over  her  becoming  more 
apparent  as  he  spoke. 


130  The  House  of  Landell 

She  sat  very  still.  Memory  was  collecting  forces 
for  her  emancipation. 

"  I  recall  this, — for  a  long  time  I  never  thought  of 
the  incident  without  there  being  pictured  intensely  upon 
my  mind,  in  connection  with  it,  the  figure  of  the  gar 
dener,  who  on  both  occasions  stood  behind  me.  When 
I  was  older,  I  heard  that  he  was  my  nurse's  lover  and 
that  they  had  fierce  quarrels.  I  believe  he  tried  to  kill 
her,  and  once  he  set  her  house  on  fire.  He  was  con 
victed  of  arson.  Do  you  mean — ?  " 

Horror  swept  over  her.  She  trembled  so  that  Mevin 
put  out  his  hand. 

"  You  are  safe, — safer,  now  that  you  know  such 
things  may  be.  Do  not  blame  yourself  too  much." 

"  I  blame  myself  the  more." 

She  gripped  her  hands  convulsively. 

"  Do  you  call  it  any  excuse  to  hide  behind  the  claim 
of  influence  or  hypnotism!  It  is  a  double  weakness! 
The  weakness  of  me,  and  the  weakness  that  I  have  let 
other  than  God  possess  me !  Is  that  what  Cousin  Ma 
tilda  is  doing!  Possessing  me!  I  thank  you,  thank 
you,  thank  you." 

He  looked  at  her  questioningly.  She  did  not  ex 
plain  but  continued, 

"  I  fail  in  so  much.  Tell  me,  Mr.  Mevin,  I  do  not 
go  about,  often,  seeking  advice ;  but  think  what  I  have 
done  to  those  two  fine  people  on  the  hill  by  this  pub 
licity  !  I  die  daily,  in  remorse.  How  can  I  atone !  " 

Mevin  placed  his  hand  above  the  bowed  head  with 
out  touching  it ;  but  the  stray  and  glistening  hairs  rose 
to  meet  the  tenderness  of  his  touch  and  soft  peace  en 
folded  her. 

"Dear  Miss  Landell !" 

She  sat  silent.  She  knew,  no  better,  how  to  cope 
with  her  problems,  but  she  felt  at  rest.  When  she 


The  House  of  Landell  131 

looked  up,  there  was  something  in  her  eyes  that  was 
not  there  before. 

"  What  would  happen  should  I  give  myself  the 
privilege  of  doing  what  I  choose !  "  Mevin  said  grimly 
to  himself,  as,  having  left  Agnes  at  the  house,  he 
walked  thoughtfully  away.  "  Have  I  sufficient  purity 
of  heart  and  clarity  of  vision  to  dare  the  test!  What 
are  my  heart's  desires,  considering  matters  specific! 
To  marry  Agnes  Landell,  is  first  and  foremost.  I  seem 
far  enough  from  that  realization.  I  cannot  even  make 
her  hear  when  I  tell  her  that  I  love  her.  I  wonder 
if  she  ever  will  hear ! 

"  Now,  to  voice  a  second  wish  of  my  heart, — 
whether  she  hears  me  or  not,  may  I  prove  worthy  of 
her." 

He  sat  under  a  tree  and  pulled  out  some  letters  which 
he  read  carefully,  then  thrust  back  despairingly.  "  De 
sires!  Should  I  fulfil  them  all,  I  might  not  be  a  vic 
tim  of  repression  but  would  diffuse  into  invisibility. 
She  said  select!  I  will  crack  the  shell  and  find  the 
kernel  of  her  idea.  She  does  set  me  to  thinking,  and 
though  I  could  wish  her  more  human  at  times,  the 
powerful  uplift  of  her  wings  raises  me  to  planes  of 
living  where,  I,  too,  some  time  may  fly." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

There  is  no  way  under  or  over  or  around  ex 
perience  other  than  through  understanding. 

AGAIN  Philip  Herman  stood  gazing  blankly  from 
the  window  of  the  hunting  lodge,  his  back  toward  his 
mother  and  his  face  toward  despair.  It  was  the  day 
before  the  removal  of  the  two  to  the  parsonage  of  the 
church  at  Beneby. 

After  a  long  silence,  he  turned  and  spoke  bitterly. 

"  Since  you  and  that  woman  have  given  me  the 
role  of  pauper  to  play  instead  of  letting  me  fulfil  my 
heart's  desire  to  die,  as  I  was  well  on  the  way  to  doing, 
I  hope  you  will  not  bruit  abroad  your  belief,  to-night, 
to  every  inquisitive  brother  and  sister  whose  curiosity 
leads  them  to  inspect  your  creed,  but  will  help  me  hold 
this  paltry  defense  against  starvation." 

"  Had  it  been  the  desire  of  your  heart  it  would  have 
been  fulfilled."  Mrs.  Herman  looked  up  from  the 
preparation  of  their  simple  repast.  "  It  was  the  desire 
of  despair." 

"  How  can  I  tell  those  people  that  the  physical  blood 
of  a  spirit  God  will  atone  for  all  they  have  done  and 
that  their  vows  of  repentance  will  make  whole  years 
of  wreckage!  It  is  hard  enough  in  the  face  of  my 
own  unbelief;  but  to  see  those  eyes  of  yours  give  me 
the  lie—  " 

Dull  flames  of  rage  swept  from  his  eyes  to  hers  as 
he  spoke. 

"  Never  have  I  interfered  with  your  expression, 
132 


The  House  of  Landell  133 

Philip.  If  your  own  heart  and  experience  challenge 
your  doctrine,  don't  blame  me !  Say  what  you  believe. 
That  alone  eventually  carries  power." 

There  were  wonderful  sweetness  and  strength  in  the 
words  and  her  poise  halted  him;  but  he  began  again: 

"  To  speak  openly  is  to  antagonize ;  to  speak  cov 
ertly,  is  to  use  the  temple  for  purposes  no  less  loathly 
than  did  the  sons  of  Eli  when  they  prostituted  the 
sacredness  of  life  to  their  own  uses  in  their  own  day 
and  manner.  Mother,  I  am  afraid!  Afraid  to  lie 
and  afraid  to  tell  the  truth.  Yet  I  am  unfitted  for  any 
other  profession." 

Mrs.  Herman  looked  at  him  with  sympathy  un 
touched  by  pity. 

"  Take  a  walk  into  the  sunset,"  she  said,  after  sev 
eral  minutes,  during  which  she  watched  him  with  com 
posure  born  of  faith. 

Without  further  speech,  Philip  left  the  room.  Mrs. 
Herman  sat  still  for  a  long,  long  time,  "  listening  to 
hear  what  God  would  say." 

"  Who  will  go  with  me  to  welcome  the  new  min 
ister?"  asked  Agnes,  that  evening,  before  the  as 
sembled  family. 

"Agnes!"  groaned  Tom,  "I  will  if  you  want  me 
to,  but  how  can  you  suggest  father's  stepping  inside 
that  church !  I  couldn't  go  were  I  he ;  but  doing  good 
to  them  that  despite  fully  use  you  is  no  book  religion 
with  him." 

"  No  one  can  injure  us  without  the  mind's  consent, 
you  know  that,"  returned  Mr.  Landell. 

"  Their  prayer  meeting  is  a  regular  farce,  anyway," 
continued  Tom.  "  Sister  Benkoni  will  kneel  down  and 
pray,  only  heaven  knows  what, — quite  the  proper  thing 
in  prayer  but  not  exactly  what  the  old  soul  intends. 
She  begins  way  down  low  and  goes  faster  and  faster 


134  The  House  of  Landell 

and  higher  and  higher,  till,  out  of  breath  and  at  the  end 
of  her  gamut,  she  has  to  stop.  The  inadequacy  of  her 
method  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  though,  according 
to  historical  evidence,  she  has  called  on  her  God  in 
the  same  fashion  for  forty  years,  she  is  as  uncertain 
as  ever  of  results.  Then  will  follow  those  ridiculous 
sentence  prayers  and  split-minute  testimonies  without 
a  particle  of  spirituality — for  no  one  can  induce  spir 
itual  fervor  by  turning  a  mental  crank.  Bullock  will 
lay  hold  on  the  horns  of  the  altar,  and  Discock  will 
roll  on  the  car  of  salvation.  Lapham  will  tell  for  the 
'steenth  time  how  he  was  converted  and,  after  he  sits 
down,  think  up  a  scheme  to  beat  Olny  out  of  that  lot 
he  wants  so  badly.  Percy  will  urge  a  revival,  which  is 
an  orgy  of  emotionalism  and  hypnotism  combined. 
Father,  did  you  know  there  was  a  revivalist  here  last 
week  who  said,  '  Some  people  call  religion  principle. 
Friends,  if  I  were  to  take  my  bride  to  the  altar  and 
give  her  the  kiss  of  principle  she  would  leave  me  where 
I  stand'?" 

"If  he  feels  that  way,  he  doesn't  quite  understand 
what  is  meant  by  principle.  If  he  did,  he  would  know 
that  the  foundations  of  society  rest  on  the  acceptance 
of  the  marriage  relation  as  based  on  principle  instead 
of  on  unrestrained  passion.  Principle  is  a  unit  or 
basis  of  action.  Law  is  the  statement  of  standards  and 
standards  demonstrate  growth.  The  purpose  of  law  is 
unity  of  action  in  the  expression  of  a  given  principle ! 
A  noble,  but  by  no  means  a  universal  definition  of  law 
is  unity  of  action  with  its  basis, — or,  the  search  for 
truth." 

Tom  reflected  his  father's  calm  as  he  responded, 
"  They   think   we   mean   something   bloodless   and 
impersonal.     We  do  get  dreadfully  mixed  in  termi 
nology.     Still,  your  tender  attitude  toward  ignorance 
does  not  prevent  the  fact  that  emotional  and  religious 


The  House  of  Landell  135 

excesses  run  hand  in  hand  and  the  physicians  know  it. 
I  cannot  understand  why  they  have  not  risen  as  one 
man  and  explained  to  the  public  that  both  are  anes 
thesia  to  intelligence.  They  represent  illegitimate  uses 
of  vital  potency,  which  sacred  possession  proves  our 
sonship.  When  we  realize  that  religion  is  not  a  Bac 
chanalian  orgy,  but  the  loving  application  of  principle 
to  the  daily  task, — that  is,  the  fulfilling  of  the  law, — 
these  excesses  will  be  considered  as  serious  abuses  and 
supplanted  by  intelligent  worship.  Agnes,  how  can 
you  remain  in  a  church  communion  that  countenances 
such  methods! " 

"  They  are  in  a  phase  of  growth  and  I  want  to  help 
them.  More  than  Mr.  Herman's  encouragement  de 
pends  on  this  meeting  to-night." 

"  Let  us  go,"  said  Mr.  Landell,  "  to  hear  the  speech 
of  others,  free  from  cavil  or  assent." 

As  the  Landells  were  nearing  the  meeting  house,  Dr. 
Brentford  and  Ross  Mevin  met  them.  After  they 
had  passed,  Mevin  turned  to  his  companion. 

"  Your  protege  is  to  make  his  debut  to-night,  I  hear. 
Aren't  you  interested  in  seeing  what  he  is  making  of 
the  life  you  helped  save?  " 

"Bah,  no!    Come  on!" 

"I  am.  So  long!"  Leaving  his  comrade,  Mevin 
reached  the  church  almost  as  soon  as  the  Landells,  tak 
ing  a  rear  seat  where  he  could  feast  his  eyes  on  the 
profile  of  Agnes,  and  watch  the  lobe  of  her  dainty 
ear,  which,  for  him,  possessed  irresistible  attraction. 

The  service  was  as  Tom  had  predicted — the  usual 
wheezy  singing;  the  breathy,  inarticulate  prayers;  the 
inane  pauses,  filled,  not  with  the  dignity  of  silence,  but 
with  sleepy  indifference  on  the  part  of  some  who  were 
half-drugged  with  the  lack  of  ventilation  and  wanted 
to  go  home,  and  with  terror  on  the  part  of  others  who 
thought  they  should  '  testify,'  but  did  not  dare. 


136  The  House  of  Landell 

"Who  will  speak  a  word  for  the  Lord?  Brothers 
and  sisters,  do  not  hide  your  one  talent!  Rise  and 
testify!  "  said  the  leader  of  the  meeting, — for,  on  the 
plea  that  he  could  become  better  acquainted  with  the 
members,  by  mingling  with  them,  this  first  evening, 
Philip  had  not  opened  the  services,  but  sat  beside  the 
speaker's  desk,  his  eyes  burning  with  the  intensity  of 
his  agony. 

"  Will  some  one  tell  me  how  many  cups  are  in  the 
pantry  of  the  church?"  Agnes'  clear  voice  rang 
through  the  audience  room. 

"  I  am  sure  you  will  not  consider  the  question  inap 
propriate  when  I  explain." — This  she  added  in  re 
sponse  to  the  leader's  astounded  expression — "  It  ap 
pears  to  me  that  these  teacups  and  the  whole  church 
property  are  like  the  one  talent,  and  the  church  body 
very  like  the  servant  who  buried  it.  They  should  be 
called  upon  to  testify,  as  you  have  asked  us  to  do. 
There  is  a  factory  over  the  hill,  where  seventy-five 
fine  girls  work.  They  have  been  spending  their  noon 
hours  in  the  dust-filled  rooms.  Recently,  to  their  great 
delight  and  benefit,  the  owner  of  the  factory  provided 
lunches  and  a  rest-room  for  them,  procuring,  at  some 
expense,  what  we  have  locked  in  these  pantries.  Just 
outside  this  building,  half  a  hundred  men,  the  brawn 
of  our  country,  at  work  on  our  highways,  are  eating 
from  pails  on  the  curbstone  or  on  gravel  piles,  because 
this  '  garden  of  the  Lord  '  so  close  at  hand  is  enclosed 
in  iron  palings  and  the  gates  locked. 

"  Let  us  do  at  least  as  much  as  business  men  are  do 
ing, — unearth  this  talent,  utilize  this  property,  open 
the  kitchen  and  Sunday  School  rooms,  this  beau 
tiful  grove  and  these  pleasant  parlors,  for  all  time.  As 
a  church  body,  let  us  present  the  Christ  Principle  in 
the  church  better  than  ever  before." 

"  Mr.  Standing  Committee, —  "  said  little  Miss  Ben- 


The  House  of  Landell  137 

koni, — and  be  it  remembered  that  she  was  the  one, 
who,  though  praying  for  years  in  her  ever-ascending 
scale  of  terror,  never  before  had  made  intelligible  a 
single  word  she  said ;  but  who  spoke  fearlessly  now,  in 
her  awakenment  to  an  idea :  "  I  thought  religion  meant 
that,  when  I  joined  the  church.  I  am  so  tired  helping 
to  get  up  rummage  sales  and  handing  round  subscrip 
tion  papers.  Aprons  and  pillow  slips  seem  more  like 
the  Lord's  work,  somehow,  seeing  they  are  needful; 
but  they  don't  fill  my  soul.  There  isn't  any  life  behind 
it.  We  get  money  in  ways  that  don't  seem  right.  We 
are  always  asking  entertainers  to  give  something  for 
nothing.  Little  enough  does  it  occur  to  us  to  find 
out  if  they've  made  any  money  that  week  for  some 
thing  to  eat,  let  alone  something  to  wear,  at  our  free 
get-ups,  and  we  make  fun  of  them  if  they  don't  dress 
in  style.  I  can't  help  feeling  it's  putting  a  premium  on 
wickedness,  for  they  must  get  the  clothes,  somehow, 
to  entertain  us  in.  We  do  the  same  thing  to  ministers, 
too!  Then  there  is  something  worse — and  I  can't 
sleep  nights  for  thinking  of  it — if  we  get  up  for 
churches  and  charity  things  we  campaign  against  as 
moral  pests,  and  are  willing  to  stand  in  the  vestry 
of  the  church,  as  we  did  last  week,  covered  with  sheets, 
all  but  our  feet,  and  let  those  be  exposed  for  the  min 
ister  to  auction  off  to  any  man  that  likes  their  shape 
enough  to  pay  the  biggest  price  for  them — I  can't 
help  feeling  that  whether  it's  for  the  church  or  not, 
it's  only  making  the  line  a  little  longer  to  the  point  of 
Stirling  our  consciences  and  selling  our  souls  for 
gauds ! " 

Breathless,  as  she  realized  what  she  had  done,  the 
little  woman  sank  terrified  in  her  seat. 

"  Who  will  answer  Miss  Landell's  question  about 
the  cups?"  In  his  haste  to  cover,  what  he  consid 
ered  these  most  reprehensible  remarks  of  Miss  Ben- 


138  The  House  of  Landell 

koni,  Mr.  Olny  thus  lost  for  the  meeting  any  possi 
bility  of  its  return  to  usual  procedure. 

"  What  Miss  Benkoni  says  is  so  very  true !  " 

At  once,  Agnes  was  increasingly  intense. 

"  We  are  about  to  enter  upon  a  new  chapter  in  the 
work  of  the  church.  Will  it  be  in  order  to  make  this 
meeting  a  council  for  ways  and  means — not  to  obtain 
money, — that  will  surely  come  if  we  enter  the  king 
dom  of  righteousness,  first, — not  for  emotionalism; 
but  for  spiritual  understanding?" 

Mr.  Olny  was  about  to  demur;  but  one  of  the 
younger  men  who  had  been  asleep  in  a  corner  was 
wakened  by  this  new  quality  in  the  proceedings,  and 
moved  that  the  suggestion  be  followed.  This  was 
seconded  and  Agnes  went  on. 

"  I  agree  with  Miss  Benkoni.  Nowhere  in  life  do 
we  expect  something  for  nothing  so  much  as  in  the 
church.  Some  of  you  will  say,  we  give  a  great  deal. 
So  some  of  us  do.  All  are  supposed  to  acquire  spir 
itual  peace  and  power,  exhibited  in  better  civics,  purer 
ethics,  honesty  in  daily  dealings,  and  deep  rich  spiritual 
morality  in  our  homes  and  daily  lives.  How  much  are 
we  gaining  these  results  through  the  church?  How 
much  through  the  business  leagues,  while  we  remain 
supine  ?  Not  as  individuals,  but  as  a  church,  how  well 
are  we  protecting  our  neighbors'  reputations;  respect 
ing  our  neighbors'  opinions  and  problems,  and  helping 
unfold  character  when  the  task  seems  more  than  indi 
viduals  can  accomplish?  How  much  does  the  church 
direct,  not  only  in  preaching,  but  in  practice,  the  guid 
ing  of  our  tongues,  that  we  think  and  speak  no  guile, 
as  we  meet  together  ?  Primarily,  through  the  influence 
of  the  church,  how  many  refuse  to  listen  to  scandal  or 
to  read  or  converse  wantonly  ?  " 

"  We  wouldn't  have  any  sewing  circles  in  short 
order,"  tittered  old  Mrs.  Tice.  "  There's  folks  here 


The  House  of  Landell  139 

wouldn't  like  to  have  to  hold  up  their  hands  as  to  who 
always  greets  the  newcomer  with  *  What's  the  news  ? ' 
meaning  the  last  scandal." 

"  Religion  hasn't  been  what  I  expected  when  I  was 
converted  twenty  years  ago,  under  the  grape  arbor," 
quavered  Brother  Lapham.  "  We  have  not  been  sleep 
less  in  watching  lest  the  devil  steal  our  souls !  " 

"  Brother  Lapham,  does  that  arbor  still  have 
grapes  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Burton. 

Mr.  Lapham  shrank  back  into  his  seat  with  an 
ominous  frown  and  was  silent. 

Philip  Herman  looked  down  at  his  mother.  The 
calm  that  rarely  deserted  her  was  with  her  now.  Her 
face  was  illumined.  As  Agnes'  clear  tones  continued 
to  electrify  the  meeting,  turning  it  from  the  irrespon 
sibility  he  had  so  dreaded,  a  change  came  over  his 
mobile  face. 

"  Let  us  thoughtfully  confront  our  methods,"  she 
was  saying.  "  Already,  Miss  Benkoni  has  noted  two. 
Next  to  the  constant  suggestion  of  something  for  noth 
ing,  is  the  suggestion  rather  than  the  teaching — of 
giving  for  personal  gain.  Children  are  teased  into 
Sunday  School  for  Christmas  gifts;  to  sociables,  for  a 
free  feed, — they  call  it  that! — Under  promise  of 
earthly  and  heavenly  gifts  and  freedom  from  respon 
sibilities  every  normal  man  and  woman  should  rejoice 
in,  many  are  urged  to  confess  to  what  they  know 
they  have  not  experienced.  Too  seldom,  is  taught  the 
moral  accountability  of  the  individual  to  himself;  his 
home;  the  church  as  promoter  of  spiritual  welfare; 
the  world ;  the  universe.  The  teaching  of  many  church 
bodies  is  a  hysterical  demand  to  give  up  all, — which 
one  cannot  do,  for  we  move  and  have  being  in  God. 

"  We  are  taught  to  cast  our  sins  upon  a  defenceless 
brother,  which,  besides  teaching  brutal  selfishness,  is 
impossible,  for  our  actions  make  our  lives. 


140  The  House  of  Landell 

"  What  can  we  church  members  expect  of  servants 
and  employees,  when  we  accept  the  doctrine  of  evasion 
of  our  deeds  and  obligations.  When  we  shout  thought 
lessly  '  Jesus  Paid  it  All,'  and  '  Jesus  Died  for  Me/ 
is  it  any  wonder  that  the  habit  of  grab  and  keep  be 
comes  ingrained  into  instead  of  trained  out  of  us? 
Willingly  we  accept  vicarious  atonement  from  our 
fathers  and  mothers  and  friends  and  believe  we  have 
a  right  to  do  so,  thus  lessening  both  capacity  and 
desire  to  be  the  saviour  instead  of  the  saved!  Jesus 
came  to  show  us  how  to  do  what  He  did,  rather  than 
to  accept  what  He  did !  '  He  did  not  come  to  teach 
us  to  save  our  souls  from  a  lost  world ;  but  to  set  our 
souls  to  save  the  world.'  Our  attempts  to  cast  aside 
our  obligations  are  futile.  They  rise  and  grip  us  till 
a  righteous  sowing  gives  us  the  reaping  of  holiness." 

"  She  will  take  away  my  Saviour  who  died  for  me," 
wailed  an  old  woman.  "  I  love  to  think  of  Jesus,  dy 
ing  on  the  cross  and  saving  me  from  the  consequences 
of  my  sins." 

"  Love  to  think  of  Jesus  dying  on  the  cross  for  you ! 
That  is  self  love, — the  desire  for  self-preservation. 
Bitterest  hate  could  devise  nothing  more  vicious ! " 

Mrs.  Peebles  looked  frightened.  Then  a  ray  of 
comprehension  softened  the  hard  contour  of  her  face. 

"  It  does  sound  so,  now  you  put  it  that  way !  Where 
did  the  idea  come  from?" 

"  From  our  child-understanding.  Truth  is  too  great 
for  us  to  comprehend  in  full.  Most  converts  to  a 
new  idea  bring  to  bear  upon  it  their  preconceived 
notions.  The  early  Christians  apprehended  the  truth 
but  comprehended  only  according  to  their  spiritual 
growth.  That  is  why  intellectual  and  physical  effi 
ciency  have  unfolded  wars  and  brutality.  The  in 
tellect  conceives  ideas  of  its  own.  There  is  One.  We 
are  God's  ideas,  and,  understood,  they  never  conflict. 


The  House  of  Landell  141 

Mind,  Intelligence,  are  but  part  unfoldments  toward 
the  universal  unity  and  the  Universal  Presence.  Every 
text  in  the  Bible  is  a  personal  message,— 

"  '  For  other  foundation,  no  man  can  lay,  than  that 
which  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ.' 

"  '  Even  though  we  have  known  Christ  after  the 
flesh,  now,  know  we  Him  so,  no  more.' ' 

There  was  silence.  The  Presence  seemed  to  move 
among  them.  The  light  played  over  Agnes'  face  and 
she  seemed  a  very  aroma  of  truth  in  a  garden  of  ma 
terialism.  At  the  head  of  a  new  page  in  his  note-book 
Mevin  made  a  register  in  a  bold  decisive  hand,  never 
turning  his  eyes  from  the  slender  figure  who  stood  fear 
lessly  before  him,  or  removing  his  mind  from  the  soul 
of  her. 

"  Father,"  said  Tom  in  horrified  undertones,  as 
the  company  dispersed  and,  naturally,  Mevin  and 
Agnes  fell  behind,  "  what  possessed  her !  She  wishes 
Herman  to  succeed,  yet,  if  I  am  any  guesser,  her  words 
will  induce  a  cataclysm." 

"  She  is  thinking  of  the  liberty  of  God,"  and  Tom, 
finding  that  his  father  did  not  intend  to  criticize  his 
daughter,  decided  to  follow  his  example;  so  wisely, 
fell  to  thinking  of  Mattee  Sue. 

The  next  day,  Mr.  Landell  sought  his  wife.  He 
found  her  in  the  morning  room  arranging  flowers. 

"  Helen,  Agnes  suggests  that  we  remain  here  this 
winter  instead  of  going  to  town.  What  do  you  say?  " 

"  Daniel !  "  Mrs.  Landell  dropped  the  roses  to  throw 
her  hands  out  with  a  gesture  of  disapprobation.  "  She 
is  interested  in  that  preacher!  For  a  woman  of  her 
temperament  to  become  a  minister's  wife, — we  might 
as  well  lay  her  away  from  the  very  church,  that,  to  my 
mind,  is  responsible  for  her  nervous  condition.  Were 
I  to  listen,  regularly,  to  that  theology — and  believe  it — 


142  The  House  of  Landell 

(and  I  do  not  speak  with  intent  to  cavil  or  to  jeer)  my 
'  bowels  of  compassion  '  would  be  so  disturbed,  and  my 
emotional  expression  so  unbalanced,  I  should  have 
silent  or  outloud  hysteria  and  a  wholly  distorted  sense 
of  relations  and  values ;  not  through  any  dispensation 
of  Providence,  but  as  the  result  of  inharmonious  think 
ing.  Such  temptation  is  dangerous  for  her." 

'  You  were  born  into  a  communion  with  a  liberal 
interpretation  of  life,  Helen.  I  wonder  if  you  have 
any  conception  of  the  suffering  borne  by  tempera 
ments  like  those  of  Agnes,  Herman  and  myself,  as,  one 
by  one,  theological  landmarks,  hitherto  considered 
static,  resolve  into  the  flux  and  flow  of  progress.  The 
seasons  of  blindness  as  to  processes  are  heart-breaking. 
I  feel  like  agreeing  with  Agnes  and  remaining  here 
to  help  Herman.  The  horrors  of  Erebus  were  in  his 
eyes,  last  night,  and  Agnes  turned  the  scale  for  him. 
The  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brotherhood  of  man 
were  acknowledged  in  that  church,  as  never  before,  and 
the  people  were  glad  of  it." 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  that,  after  what  has  hap 
pened,  you  would  go  back  into  that  church,  do  you  ?  I 
don't  mean  you  are  not  great  enough  to  do  it,  but  you 
could  not  gain  ingress  there.  You  might  present  your 
body;  but  your  mind  and  opinions  would  be  ostracised." 

"  Mine  might,  yes;  but  God's,  no.  If  the  time  has 
come,  which  it  had  not  in  the  times  to  which  you  refer, 
for  bud  to  succeed  stem,  the  growth  will  appear,  and 
I  may  in  some  way  serve  as  sunshine  or  rain.  At  all 
events,  I  can  give  Agnes  the  support  she  needs. 

"  With  your  knowledge  of  that  membership,  you  do 
not  think  they  will  accept  what  she  said  last  night !  " 

"  James  Freeman  Clarke's  statement  of  faith  has, 
for  years,  been  losing  its  identity  as  a  Unitarian 
tenet,—  " 

"  Yes,   because,   stealthily,   by   some,   blatantly,   by 


The  House  of  Landell  143 

others,  it  has  been  abstracted  and  reformed  into  the 
statements  of  other  beliefs." 

"  It  is  leavening  the  whole  and  all  but  a  few  are  glad 
to  see  themselves  emerging  from  limitations  of  sect. 
Its  truth  belongs  to  us  all,  whoever  formulated  it." 

"  We  cannot  deny  a  sense  of  injustice  when  told 
that  our  congregations  do  not  grow,  and  we  know  it 
is  because  other  sects  have  claimed  the  spirit  of  our  in 
stitutions  in  interpretation  and  phraseology.  They  re 
main  in  the  havens  of  conservatism — the  churches  in 
which  they  were  born — and  hoist  the  petards,  we,  with 
stress  and  strain,  have  borne  to  their  fortresses. 
Though  the  attacks  upon  us  are  less  fierce,  since  there 
are  more  blasphemous  cults  to  contend  against  in  their 
imaginings,  we  still  have  a  share  to  sustain.  We  find 
it  inconceivable  that  the  average  congregation  is  ig 
norant  that  they  accept  from  their  Dr.  A.  on  B.  Street, 
interpretations  of  principle  they  would  reject  if  they 
knew  that  Dr.  D.  on  J.  Street  had  been  teaching  them 
for  many  years." 

"  Unitarianism  is  not  a  finality,  it  is  a  manner  of 
looking  at  life;  a  movement,  bearing  those  in  its  cur 
rents  steadily  through  the  spirals  of  growth,  from  dis 
crimination  of  values,  where  Agnes  is  struggling, 
through  hatred  and  disgust  where  Herman  evidently  is, 
through  control,  tolerance,  endurance,  faith  and  bal 
ance,  to  spiritual  recognition  of  Conscious  Reality." 

"  Those  people  are  not  sufficiently  advanced  on  the 
spiral,  to  give  up  their  man-given  heritage  of  worm- 
hood — an  easy  idea  to  express ! — They  will  contend 
that  appreciation  of  man  and  of  other  Christs  in  his 
tory  is  depreciation  of  Jesus.  They  will  not  recog 
nize  that  it  was  unity  that  enabled  Jesus, — enables  all 
of  us, — to  act  joyfully  for  those  we  love,  and  to  be 
sure  that  we  are  not  doing  it  because  of  some  emotional 
idea  of  martyrizing  ourselves.  It  makes  Jesus  far 


144  The  House  of  Landell 

more  wonderful  than  the  other  conception,  for  He 
was  willing,  through  a  perfect  correspondence  between 
a  perfect  idea  and  a  perfect  expression,  to  objectify 
that  the  Only  Begotten  Son,  is  Truth." 

"  The  consciousness  of  thousands  is  being  awak 
ened  to  the  meanings  of  life,  as  reaching  beyond 
the  confines  of  the  physical,"  responded  Mr.  Landell. 
"  Even  persecutions  and  diseases  are  assuming  mental 
phases,  and  the  torch-bearers  are  realizing  that  devils  of 
mental  quality  are  no  more  superior  and  far  more 
subtly  dangerous  and  soul-attacking  than  those  that 
dogma  has  cloaked  with  physical  embodiments.  Much 
misunderstanding  is  due  to  the  quibbling  of  words, 
anyway." 

"  The  end  will  be,  Agnes  will  fall  in  love  with  that 
man.  She  is  in  the  torments  of  self-condemnation, 
for  which  I  cannot  blame  her, — such  a  stupid  and 
uncalled-for  proceeding,  to  drag  him  before  the  public 
as  a  pauper!  To  me,  the  worst  of  it  is,  that  at  the 
same  time,  she  flung  herself  before  the  limelight,  and 
in  the  horribly  cheap  attitude  of  medium  or  seer —  " 

"  The  one  belongs  to  the  dependent,  the  other  to  the 
interdependent  stage  of  consciousness;  one,  to  the  stage 
of  control,  or  subjection,  the  other,  to  that  of  coopera 
tion  or  coordination  with  the  forces  of  the  Infinite." 

"  Her  desire  to  atone  for  her  error,"  Mrs.  Landell 
skillfully  drew  her  husband  from  the  consideration  of 
abstract  principle,  to  that  of  their  ewe  lamb,  "  will 
impel  her  toward  him.  Oh,  I  can  see  the  whole  hor 
rible  tragedy !  She  loves  to  be  crucified !  " 

"  You  need  not  fear.  It  was  plain,  that  day  at  the 
lodge,  that  he  resents  her  assistance  and  will  in  no  sense 
attract —  " 

"  Oh,  you  men — Daniel ! — The  more  his  manner  re 
pels  the  more  her  self-abnegation  will  form  a  halo 
about  his  head.  His  position  of  saviour  of  souls  will 


The  House  of  Landell  145 

add  to  this  gloria,  and  she  will  not  know  until  too  late 
that  true  marriage  is  not  established  on  any  such  false 
basis !  Those  whose  minds  are  set  on  sacrifice  lose  all 
perspective.  I  told  you  so,"  gathering  the  broken  stems 
of  flowers  in  her  hands,  "  there  he  is,  coming  up  the 
driveway,  now ! " 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

"  We  want  no  star,  my  Queen, 

To  show  the  way  we're  going, 
We  need  no  fairy  harp  to  play 

We  need  no  flowers,  our  pathway  strowing, 
For  love,  himself,  will  guide  our  feet, 
For  love  is  all  our  going." 

AGNES  and  Ross  Mevin  were  sitting,  this  Sep 
tember  afternoon,  under  the  larches  in  the  Landells' 
rare  old  garden.  So  full  of  sweet  communion  was  the 
place  they  had  fallen  upon  silence,  which  is  no  least 
part  of  conversation.  He  was  watching  her  with 
quickening  heart  beats,  as  the  sunbeams  stole  under 
the  branches  and  played  upon  her  hair.  Fir  needles 
dropped  upon  them  as  they  sat,  overlooking  the  hills 
and  forests.  The  clouds  were  reflected  in  the  still  lake. 
The  woods  were  flecked  with  sunshine  and  shadow. 

"  I  wonder  what  meaning  those  waters  hold  within 
their  depths,"  with  idle  delight,  Mevin  rested  his  eyes 
upon  the  panorama. 

"  As  well  try  to  pierce  the  Sybilline  prophecies.  I 
seek  and  seek,  but  no  answer  comes." 

"  Do  not  seek !  "  A  world  of  tenderness  was  in  his 
tones.  "  Don't  you  recall  the  little  verse  you  wrote  and 
repeated  to  me  one  night  in  the  moonlight  ?  " 

"Tell  it  to  me?"  There  was  a  winsome  wistful- 
ness  in  her  speech. 

Mevin  repeated  flowingly, 

" '  The  seed  I've  sought  so  long  to  find, 

I  seek  no  longer.     I  have  found. 
It's  in  my  heart.    Now,  with  my  mind, 
I  have  but  need  to  till  the  ground.' " 
146 


The  House  of  Landell  147 

His  beautiful  voice,  having  rested  appreciatively  and 
encouragingly  upon  the  words,  ceased. 

"  How  worth  while  you  make  it  sound !  "  She  was 
silent,  turning  her  head  and  looking  toward  the  lake, 
where,  across  the  fields,  by  the  side  of  a  silvery  thread 
of  water,  the  reflections  of  gray  birches  and  waving 
poplars  cast  soft  shadows  on  the  backs  of  browsing 
cattle. 

"  Listen  to  the  air  spirit!  "  she  breathed. 

Above,  below,  and  all  about  them,  was  the  music 
of  life's  voice.  Now  at  their  feet,  amid  the  roots 
and  in  the  chambers  of  the  ground ;  now  amid  waving 
grasses;  now  in  the  branches,  and,  higher  still,  among 
the  clouds;  sinking  into  silence,  yet  pulsing  with  vital 
power.  It  whispered  into  her  ear,  then  fluttered  over  to 
Mevin,  and  murmured  unutterable  joyousness,  filling 
the  heart  of  one  with  a  passionate  love  for  life  uni 
versal  ;  of  the  other  with  an  agony  of  adoration  for  the 
special  life  he  held  so  dear. 

He  loved  to  watch  the  little  tendril  of  hair  curl  about 
the  dainty  ear;  to  touch  her  hand,  if  chance  permitted 
so  rare  a  delight;  to  hear  her  voice,  though,  some 
times,  while  watching  her,  her  words  mingled  indis- 
tinguishably  with  its  sweet  melody  reaching  the  re 
cesses  of  his  heart,  as,  not  with  ears,  he  listened  to 
what  she  said.  He  loved  to  watch  her  forehead,  be 
hind  which  sat  enthroned  noble  ideals.  He  loved 
her!  He  loved  her!  How  illusive  she  was — like  the 
mimosa — withdrawing  from  him,  even  while  the  fra 
grance  of  her  personality  intoxicated  him.  What 
should  he  do  to  draw  her  to  him ! 

The  delicious  suggestions  of  the  trixy  spirit  availed 
little, — at  least  to  outward  appearances, — though  both 
felt  the  insistent  fluttering  of  its  ecstasy  and  finally 
Mevin  voiced  itf. 


148  The  House  of  Landell 

"  How  strangely  like  a  spirit  is  the  summer  wind. 
It  incites  one  to  the  fulfilment  of  waking  dreams." 

Another  pause !  A  red-breast  flitted  near,  the  clouds 
sent  prismatic  colorings  into  the  atmosphere,  the  air- 
spirit  whispered  yet  again  into  their  ears  and  lingered 
lovingly  in  Agnes'  glistening  hair. 

"  Speaking  of  fulfilment —  "  when  he  spoke,  it  was 
as  in  continuation  of  some  thought  he  felt  she  would 
follow  without  explanation — "  makes  me  think,  by  con 
trast,  I  lost  my  case  yesterday." 

"  Not  the  bank  case  that  is  to  make  you  famous  ?  " 
At  once,  Agnes  was  all  sympathy. 

"  That  comes  later.  This  is  fraught  with  signifi 
cance  only  as  it  presents  the  war  of  ignorance  with 
wisdom." 

"  Tell  me  about  it." 

"  To  strengthen  the  credit  of  a  friend,  a  little  woman 
deeded  her  farm  to  him  for  a  period  of  time.  The 
paper  was  issued  '  with  consideration/  and,  the  crisis 
past,  the  property  was  returned,  without  consideration, 
— a  lapse  the  little  woman  did  not  recognize.  The  old 
man  died,  and  the  heirs  took  advantage  of  the  omis 
sion  to  claim  the  property.  I  had  the  case.  The  proof 
on  her  side  was  so  convincing,  I  had  no  thought  of 
defeat.  It  was  tried  in  a  little  town  in  the  hills.  Mak 
ing  a  cursory  review  of  the  matter,  the  judge  turned  to 
my  client  brusquely, 

"  '  They  say  you  are  a  spiritualist.    Are  you? ' 

"  '  I  place  no  limit  on  God,'  was  her  response.  *  We 
are  souls  and  one  with  the  Infinite  Eternal.  The  phase 
called  death  has  no  power  to  disintegrate  spirit.  I  be 
lieve  in  the  communion  of  saints.' 

"  *  That  is  no  reply,'  returned  the  judge.  *  Such  a 
person  cannot  expect  the  protection  of  the  court/ 
With  this  recommendation,  of  course,  the  jury  entered 
verdict  against  her." 


The  House  of  Landell  149 

"  It  is  pathetic,"  sighed  the  listener. 

"  Agnes !  "  Mevin  leaned  forward,  unconscious  of 
the  use  of  her  given  name,  in  this  moment  of  mutual 
understanding,  "  the  experience  comes  to  me,  each 
time  with  the  same  crushing  bitterness,  that  so-called 
good  men  and  women  array  themselves,  less  according 
to  their  lights  than  their  darkness." 

"Do  you  believe  with  your  client?"  Agnes,  too, 
leaned  forward,  intensely. 

"  My  thought  is,"  he  meditated,  "  that  steps  in  this 
life,  now  visible  to  you  are  dark  to  me.  The  lifting  of 
the  veil  is  arbitrary." 

"  The  only  veil  is  immaturity.  Do  you  not  think 
so?" 

"  I  do.  Laboratories  for  proving  continuity  of  life 
and  possibilities  of  communion  in  different  phases  and 
states  seem  as  funny  to  me  as  to  attempt  to  raise  the 
Matterhorn  with  a  child's  trowel." 

"  Except,  as  the  attempt  to  visualize  the  belief  one 
cannot  see,  is  a  step  toward  the  maturity  when  no 
longer  one  sees  through  a  glass,  darkly." 

"  It  is  the  search  for  the  soul  germ,  I  acknowledge ; 
but  that  does  not  thrive  when  layer  after  layer  is  torn 
from  it.  These  must  be  moved  aside  from  within  ?  " 

"  Still,  a  child  learns  of  mountains  while  playing 
with  sand  and  clay  in  the  kindergarten.  When  he  sees 
the  Matterhorn,  he  realizes  that,  after  all,  what  he 
built,  though  not  a  mountain,  was  teaching  him  essen 
tials  concerning  it." 

"  So  shall  it  be,  that  the  scientist,  who  must  put  the 
finger  into  the  nail-hole  manifestation,  grows  through 
active  methods  of  research?  " 

"  Laboratories  for  psychical  discoveries  prove  to 
the  materialist,  so-called,  what  the  poet,  prophet  and 
seer  know  through  inner  vision ;  but  the  scientist,  whose 
real  is  so  often  the  temporal,  still  deals  in  phenomena, 


150  The  House  of  Landell 

when  he  approaches  the  psychic,  which  is  more  nearly 
on  the  material  than  the  spiritual  plane  of  the  One 
Energy." 

"  The  scientist  '  brings  the  angel  down  ' — to  para 
phrase  Dryden,  while  the  prophet,  poet  and  seer  '  raise 
the  mortal  to  the  skies.'  Talk  about  different  states/' 
he  continued,  "  we  do  not  see  each  other  here,  because 
embodied  in  flesh.  Walking  up  and  down  the  garden 
path  arm  in  arm  does  not  signify  similar  states  of  be 
ing.  What  does !  " 

"  The  growth  of  consciousness.  That  brings  us  into 
the  white  light  of  understanding,  where  we  are 
revealed  to  those  who  are  in  that  light,  and  who, 
through  that  pure  medium,  respond  to  our  thought  and 
mood  and  need." 

"  Then  light  is  the  revealer  of  the  continuity  of  life 
and  the  medium  of  communion?  What  leads  us  into 
Light?" 

'  The  moment  aspiration  lives  in  us,  the  soul  rises, 
its  Light  has  come.  The  quality  of  the  aspiration  is 
the  standard  for  the  soul's  expression  through  various 
phases  of  understanding,  even  as  sin  is  a  matter  of 
standards  and  standards  are  a  matter  of  growth."  She 
changed  the  subject  abruptly.  "  How  did  Judith  go? 
Tell  me  honestly?  I  do  not  want  flattery." 

"  I  could  not  flatter  you  if  I  would.  You  bring  your 
own  band  of  messengers,  demanding  truth.  It  was 
wonderful ;  but —  '  he  hesitated,  "  when  you  called, 
'  Fly,  Assyrians,  fly,'  it  was  not  you! " 

Agnes'  face  flamed  crimson,  then  grew  deadly  pale. 

"  Tell  me  what  it  was !  I  am  afraid !  Afraid !  May 
I  confide  in  you?  I  would  not  wish  Alicia's  teacher 
ever  to  know.  I  cannot  even  tell  Tom.  He  would  call 
it  nerves.  It  is  strange,  that,  with  all  his  research,  he 
still  claims  that  to  be  the  cause  of  my  phenomena." 

"  Many  who  think  much,  do  not  realize  that  '  the 


The  House  of  Landell  151 

development  of  the  power  of  spirit  is  one  thing  and 
spiritual  unf oldment  another ! ' 

"  I  believe  Tom  thinks  ignorance  safer  for  me.  It 
is  not.  It  is  better  to  know, —  if  one  may.  I  never 
can  thank  you  enough  for  telling  me  what  you  did 
one  day.  It  has  made  me  awake  to  what  I  was  grop 
ing  for.  Even  now,  I  can  feel  the  power  that  came 
to  my  rescue  as  a  child,  when — almost  in  the  clutches 
of  that  gardener's  influence — as  you  convinced  me  was 
the  cause  of  that  outbreak — I  threw  off  the  influence 
and  reinstated  the  only  power — the  power  of  God!  " 

"The  only  Power!"  he  repeated,  as  if  impressing 
the  words  upon  his  heart,  "  the  only  Power !  " 

"  I  am  beginning  to  feel  safe,  instead  of  so  afraid  all 
the  time.  I  believe  I  am  coming  into  the  light." 

"Of  course  you  are,  white  soul!  "  He  waited  ten 
derly  till  she  came  to  her  story,  her  own  way. 

"  I  feel  safer,  because  I  understand  that  what  I  have 
called  my  moods —  " 

"  I  have  long  known  them  to  be  more  than  that —  " 

"  Are  the  times  I  am  being  seized  upon  by  dark 
ness  and  the  light  comes  not.  But  it  always  comes 
— it  always  has  come.  I  see,  now,  that  I  have  never 
lost  it.  Could  I  have  done  any  better,  had  I  under 
stood?  She  told  him  of  that  terrible  fight,  on  the 
night  of  her  Judith  recital. 

"  Probably,  not  so  well.  You  were  following  the 
God  of  your  fathers,  not  the  rules  of  a  metaphysi 
cian,"  he  said,  himself  growing  as  he  held  out  his 
hand  to  comfort  her. 

"  There  are  many  who  think  I  have  nothing  to  make 
me  sad  or  ill — at  least,  far  less  than  many  who  make 
life  merry;  but,  in  these  ways,  I  am  in  battle  contin 
ually  for  the  supremacy  of  my  soul.  I  will  surrender 
it  to  no  influence,  carnate  or  discarnate  other  than 
God— but  how  to  tell  what  is  God?  " 


152  Jhe  House  of  Landell 

"  Have  you  ever  failed? " 

"  Shall  I  ever  know  ?  I  do  not  see  that  P  have ;  yet 
I  may  be  blind.  But  what  guides  me?  Why  did  I 
resent  this  inundation  and  the  unconscious  mental  in 
ter  ferencq  of  my  Cousin  Matilda  and  the  insurging 
demands — again  I  believe,  unintentional  on  his  part — 
of  the  gardener?  I  could  understand  were  it  hyp 
notic  in  the  sense  of  its  being  intentional." 

"  It  is  intentional,  I  have  no  doubt,  though  maybe 
not  directed.  It  is  a  subtle  determination  to  shift  re 
sponsibilities  on  to  others,  it  matters  not  who,  or  to 
gain,  no  matter  from  whom." 

"  I  gladly  greeted  the  presence  of  Mattee  Sue,  and 
was  frightened  only  when  I  realized  that  the  phenom 
enon  was  unusual." 

"  Because  of  the  power  of  selection  inherent  and 
constantly  trained  in  you.  You  know  it  was  not 
your  sister  who  endeavored  to  possess  you  during  the 
presentation  of  Judith.  I  feel  it  was  the  projection 
of  the  intense  thought  of  another  mind,  probably  that 
of  the  teacher  who  loved  Alicia,  and  whose  thought 
was  bent  on  her.  She  would  have  much  preferred  see 
ing  her  than  you;  even  if  she  saw  her  through  you. 
Doubtless  you,  too,  had  the  sweet  sister  in  mind  more 
than  you  realized.  I  feel  sure  that  is  so.  Dear  heart, 
fear  not." 

"  You  don't  believe  it  was  a  demoniacal  spirit, — 
one  of  the  Assyrians?  "  She  turned  and  trembled. 

"  Never  admit  such  a  thought  in  the  holy  temple  of 
your  being,"  warned  Mevin.  "  Dear  friend,  fear  not! 
Your  psychic  forces  mean  your  own  forces  acting 
within  you,  constantly  changing  your  manifestation. 
Universal  forces  play  in  you ;  but  not  to  act,  until  you 
acknowledge  their  leadership.  Some  you  are  cog 
nizant  of,  as,  through  the  senses — not  with  the  senses 
•— you  know  the  face  of  a  friend,  the  color  of  her  hair, 


The  House  of  Landell  153 

the  odor  of  the  rose  she  wears.  Some  forces  you  arc 
cognizant  of  through  senses  of  which  you  are  just  now 
learning.  When  psychic  forces  like  concentration, 
meditation,  realization  begin  to  make  themselves  con 
sciously  and  discriminately  known  to  you,  your  fear 
of  them  makes  their  call  come  in  pain.  When  you 
trust  them,  they  come  in  enlightenment,  because  born 
and  bred  in  love,  which,  in  its  perfection,  casts  out 
fear." 

"  What  you  say  is  so  true.  The  first  sense  of  unity 
with  our  fellows  is  often  terrifying." 

"  Cooperation  and  harmony  correlate  forces  into 
final  unity." 

"  So,  we  shall  find  our  sensitiveness  moving  in 
spirals  of  life  towards  the  fulfilment  of  our  own." 

"  Psychic  does  not  mean  relation  with  the  so-called 
dead,  alone.  It  means  our  interrelation  with  all  life. 
Messages  come  to  us  as  to  a  central  station.  It  is 
for  us  to  decide  what  we  shall  do  with  them, — but  you 
are  far  beyond  me.  Why  should  I  tell  you  these 
things!" 

"  I  am  not  beyond  you.  We  are  climbing  to  the 
hilltops  by  different  paths,  and  stop  to  exchange  salu 
tations  and  ask  directions— 

"  And  some  of  us  may  walk  together  soul  to  soul." 

"  I  am  far  from  being  as  advanced  as  you  seem  to 
believe.  I  accept  much  intellectually  that  I  cannot 
demonstrate.  The  real  soul  vision,  born  of  percep 
tion  and  realization,  is  an  advanced  growth,  but  I  am 
not  at  all  sure  that  this  phenomenal,  apparitional,  and 
symbolical  expression  is  any  more  advanced  than  are 
the  hieroglyphics  and  pictures  by  which  children  are 
taught.  I  want  my  knowledge  to  be  evidential.  The 
other  is  little  better  than  the  mixed,  inarticulate  ut 
terances  of  primitive  peoples.  I  seek  the  true  spiritual 
foresight,  by  which  '  events  cast  their  shadows  before.' 


154  The  House  of  Landell 

When  these  experiences  face  me,  I  always  say,  '  I  want 
to  help ;  what  is  it  ?  ' 

"  Would  it  be  as  well  to  say,  '  What  is  it  and  I  will 
see  if  I  want  to  help  '  ?  " 

"  I  should  have  thought  of  that  and  did  not ! 
Why?" 

"  Because  we  need  each  other  in  sweet  interrelation 
ship.  Truth  is  too  mighty  to  discern  alone.  Even 
the  stone  at  our  feet,  some  one  else  may  turn,  that  we 
may  see  the  gem  sparkling  in  the  geode." 

"  Sensitiveness  should  not  make  us  touchy,  should 
it !  It  should  enable  us  to  hear  the  music  of  all  strings 
tuned  to  the  keynote  of  life.  It  should  coordinate  the 
instrument  with  the  thought  and  action  it  is  to  express ; 
to  find  new  harmonies  in  seeming  dissonance,  not  to 
hold  us  fast  to  the  combinations  we  are  aware  of !  It 
should  be  great  enough  to  harmonize  all  things,  not 
with  us  as  the  ultimate,  but  with  the  keynote  of  Uni 
versal  Unity.  Attuned  to  that,  we  ring  out  a  mes 
sage  of  affiliation  with  all  that  is  good." 

"  Good  afternoon,  Miss  Landell,"  an  indolent  and 
interesting  voice  interrupted.  "  Are  you  at  home  ? 
Ah,  Mevin,  sitting  at  heaven's  gate?  Make  the  most 
of  your  opportunity.  It  is  as  near  as  you  and  I  will 
ever  get,  I  fancy." 

"Oh,  Dr.  Brentford!" 

Cordially,  Agnes  greeted  the  young  physician,  while 
Mevin  straightened  unnecessarily. 

"  I  suppose  they  had  you  on  the  seat  of  repentance 
the  other  night  when  you  went  to  prayer  meeting, 
Mevin,"  Brentford  turned  to  his  friend.  "  I  never 
went  to  one  of  those  moving-picture  shows  but  once. 
Then,  I  knelt  with  a  lot  of  others  so  I  could  squeeze 
the  hand  of  a  girl  I  had  taken  a  fancy  to.  She  had 
never  let  me  touch  it  before,  but  this  night  she  squeezed 
it  back.  I  suppose  she  thought  it  religious  fervor. 


The  House  of  Landell  155 

How  is  the  young  minister,  Miss  Landell?  Is  he  still 
living  on  huckleberries  turned  into  cash?  " 

Agnes  quivered. 

"  Will  he  ever  forgive  me  for  making  his  necessities 
the  subject  of  a  berry  party!  "  she  gasped. 

"  He  should  be  so  complimented  at  your  forecast 
ing  the  future  for  him  that  he  would  overlook  the  little 
pleasantry  of  being  published.  If  I  were  he,  I  could 
sooner  forgive  that  than  being  dragged  back  into  this 
hypocritical  old  world  just  as  I  saw  a  decent  chance 
to  slip  out.  I  wouldn't  worry  about  it !  " 

"  I  can  feel  that  he  is  not  forgiving  me  for  being 
so  crude  in  my  methods." 

"Is  it,  perhaps,  that  you  do  not  forgive  yourself? 
You  know  what  you  told  me  about  your  discipline/' 
said  Mevin. 

"  Perhaps  so,"  Agnes  responded,  drearily. 

"  Surely,  you  shouldn't  fret,  and  for  mercy's  sake, 
don't  discipline  yourself.  Life  does  that  sufficiently 
without  our  taking  time  and  strength  to  formulate 
any  curriculum,"  said  Brentford,  carelessly.  "  We  are 
all  going  to  the  lake  to-night,  to  see  the  eclipse,  aren't 
we?" 

Mevin  responded  in  the  affirmative,  forestalling  a 
possible  invitation  on  the  part  of  Brentford,  by  adding, 

"  Miss  Landell,  will  you  go  with  me?  " 

Agnes  accepted  the  invitation,  and  as  the  men  rose 
to  go,  she  stepped  into  the  light  so  beautiful  a  pic 
ture,  that  both  their  hearts  quickened  perceptibly. 

"  Smashing  woman,  Miss  Landell,"  remarked  Brent 
ford,  as  they  walked  towards  the  hotel.  "  It's  a  pity 
she  should  worry  herself  to  death  because  she  has 
done  a  man  a  kindness.  Where  did  she  get  the  idea 
he  doesn't  like  it?  From  her  imagination,  I  expect,  or 
some  more  of  that  mind-extension  business  of  hers. 
She  reads  too  much.  I  never  supposed  a  minister 


156  The  House  of  Landell 

would  mind  a  little  thing  like  being  nursed  and  taken 
care  of.  Life  doesn't  afford  much  sensitiveness  to  that 
sort  of  thing.  If  she  is  queer  and  sees  farther  than 
some,  she  must  pay  the  price.  She's  a  puzzle." 

"  Almost  as  much  as  Brentford,"  returned  Mevin. 

"  Oh,  he's  not  much  of  a  one,  given  the  key.  Like 
Herman,  he  is  only  a  victim  of  ill-advised  charity, 
which,  in  his  case,  instead  of  being  dispensed  in  huckle 
berry  saucers,  came  from  an  uncle  who  stole  his  patri 
mony,  and,  incidentally,  respect  for  his  class  and  for 
charity-mongers  in  general. 

"  Come,  old  fellow,  it  isn't  even  medically  scientific 
to  draw  conclusions  from  one  case, —  " 

"  Those  girls  look  smart,  don't  they !  "  Abruptly, 
Brentford  changed  the  subject  by  nodding  toward  two 
young  women,  who,  in  picturesque  sport  clothes,  were 
descending  the  steep  pine-shaded  avenue,  with  oars 
across  their  shoulders. 

"  Here  come  the  hordes  from  the  city,"  he  continued, 
as  the  level  lake  road  became  alive  with  arrivals  from 
the  train;  motors,  victorias  and  saddle  horses  with 
some  pedestrians,  moving  up  the  hill,  where,  through 
the  vista  of  avenue,  light  and  shade  gamboled  together, 
and  the  lake  sparkled  into  view,  gleaming  like  jewels 
through  the  velvet  of  hemlock  boughs. 

"  I  wonder  how  many  they  have  done  to-day,"  he 
went  on,  cynically.  "  By  the  way,  did  you  hear  about 
Silox  and  Presby?  Presby  is  a  deacon,  you  know. 
It  seems  he  won  a  cool  hundred  from  Silox,  Saturday 
afternoon,  on  Presby's  back  porch,  under  cover  of  a 
friendly  game  of  poker.  Silox  felt  pretty  sore  about 
it  from  the  first;  but  it  was  nothing  to  his  feelings 
when  he  went  by  Presby's,  Sunday  afternoon.  Presby 
was  holding  a  prayer  meeting  on  the  memorable  spot. 
As  Silox  hove  in  sight,  Presby  spied  him,  and  struck 
up  the  hymn,  '  The  Lord  Will  Provide.'  I  thought 


The  House  of  Landell  157 

Silox  would  choke  with  rage.  It  was  all  I  could  do 
to  keep  him  from  rushing  on  to  the  piazza  and  yelling, 
'  It  isn't  the  Lord,  in  this  case,  it  is  that  idiot  of  a 
Hezekiah  Silox,  to  the  tune  of  a  hundred  a  hand.'  I 
don't  know  what  made  me  stop  him.  The  excitement 
would  have  been  so  exhilarating.  Going  in  to  dress? 
I'll  see  you  later." 

Soon  after  dinner,  the  boating  party  descended  the 
steps  leading  from  the  hotel  grounds  and  gathered  at 
the  lake  side.  The  mystical  silence  of  nature  was 
sharply  stilettoed  by  the  piercing  whir  of  the  katydids, 
and  from  their  ambuscades  of  tree  stumps,  trailing 
vines  and  fallen  leaves  the  crickets  voiced  their  capitu 
lation  to  the  forces  of  the  fall.  It  was  too  early  for 
the  moon;  but  the  west  flamed  with  color,  shooting 
across  the  heavens  in  forking  tongues  of  rose  and 
gold.  The  heavenly  beauty  of  the  scene  precluded 
conversation. 

Loosed  from  their  moorings,  the  boats  glided  past 
the  birches  and  the  heavier  beech  and  chestnut  trees,  to 
a  part  of  the  lake  where  pines  towered  and  hemlocks 
swept  the  brown  carpet  of  its  border.  More  and  more 
indistinct  grew  the  petulance  of  the  katydids  and  the 
wailing  of  the  crickets  for  the  vanished  summer. 

The  lake  lay  like  a  canvas  spread  before  the  painter 
Night.  Little  by  little,  he  limned  mellowing  shadows 
upon  the  sun-illumined  waters,  sombrely  intensifying 
their  beauty.  An  opalescent  twilight  chastened  the 
barbaric  splendor  of  the  scene. 

Lengthening  from  the  forest  on  the  western  shore, 
darkness  stole  along  the  surface  of  the  waters.  From 
the  northern  bank,  the  borders  of  the  lake  became  out 
lined  with  foliated  adumbrant  curves,  merging  into  the 
reflection  of  the  woodlands  on  the  east.  Sharper 
grew  the  etching  of  branches  and  of  leaves,  of  sky 


158  The  House  of  Landell 

and  of  clouds,  upon  the  deep  light  with  silvery  sheen; 
wider,  the  border  of  reflected  leaf  and  flower,  till 
forest  and  sky  lay  pictured  in  the  water  world  as  in 
the  world  of  air,  encircling  the  centre  of  the  lake,  lying 
crystal  clear.  Into  this  unshadowed  centre,  the  oars 
men  rowed,  and,  with  shipped  oars,  sat  silent,  while 
they  who  had  come  to  watch  the  passing  of  the  moon 
through  earth's  shadow  awaited  the  phenomenon. 

A  wood  thrush  upon  the  shore  poured  forth  a  flood 
of  liquid  melody,  then  lapsed  into  silence  and  no  sound 
was  heard  but  the  drip,  drip,  drip  of  the  suspended 
oars. 

Awe  enfolded  even  those  of  trivial  mind  in  the 
group  of  watchers,  as  an  ebbing,  flowing  halo  throbbed 
along  the  eastern  sky,  veiled  as  by  smoke;  behind 
which,  burned,  sombrely,  a  lurid  flame.  This  grew 
luminous  and  undulant  as  the  moon  like  a  straw  of  gold 
appeared  cushioned  on  a  pillow  of  turquoise  blue. 
Broadening  swiftly  to  a  segment,  then  into  a  full- 
globed,  golden  orb,  she  swept  into  the  cerulean.  Little 
by  little,  the  flame-lighted  blackness  seemed  to  presage 
her  annihilation,  as  earth,  sweeping  on  her  path, 
eclipsed  her. 

Even  as  the  watchers  gazed,  they  saw,  peeping,  from 
the  mass  of  seeming  fire  mist,  a  little  glint  of  gold. 

A  gentle  breeze  moved  through  the  forest  as  earth 
passed  on,  and  thread  by  thread,  band  by  band,  seg 
ment  by  segment,  the  moon  became  visible,  shining 
down  upon  the  open  space  of  waters.  The  waves  glis 
tened;  the  rising  breeze  died  away;  the  wood  thrush 
wakened  in  the  lightening  darkness  and  poured  forth 
one  glorious  echoing  cadenza,  then  fell  again  to  sleep, 
lulled  by  the  ecstasy  of  his  song.  The  pines  bowed 
their  heads  to  voices  men  could  not  hear,  and  the  hem 
locks  sent  incense,  from  nature's  sacred  altar,  into  the 
sweet  fall  air. 


The  House  of  Landell  159 

"  I  am  glad  there  has  been  painted,  for  my  memory, 
so  beautiful  a  night!  "  said  Mevin  to  Agnes,  after  the 
party,  having  left  the  lake,  had  gone  their  ways. 
"  From  its  witchery  and  beauty,  I  shall  bear  into  my 
life  and  work  something  ineffaceable." 

He  stopped  to  assist  her  over  a  place  in  the  road 
where  the  electric  light  shone  with  too  dazzling  direct 
ness,  then  continued  regretfully, 

"  To-day  closes  for  me  one  of  the  most  restful,  help 
ful  and  beautiful  vacations  I  have  ever  known.  The 
October  glory  lures  me  more  than  the  summer's  love 
liness  ;  but  my  playtime  is  over.  To-morrow,  I  go 
back  to  my  old  life,  that  will  never  be  the  same.  I 
must  seek  new  moorings,  and  feel,  as  never  before,  like 
a  mariner  lost  upon  a  trackless  sea." 

Agnes  turned  pale.  She  walked  some  distance  in 
silence. 

"  How  very  lonely  I  shall  be.  Tell  me,  before  you 
go,  why  the  old  moorings  no  longer  serve,  and  what 
compass  you  are  taking  with  you  on  this  new  voyage, 
— the  same  as  mine?  " 

"  We  mix  metaphors — we  imaginative  ones  who 
live  in  the  land  of  dreams  we  try  to  impel  into 
realities.  Just  now,  instead  of  being  a  seaman 
at  the  prow,  looking  for  land,  I  am  feeling  like  a 
patient  in  the  hands  of  a  wise  and  kindly  physician. 
How  beautiful  to  consult  with  such  a  one  as  you.  To 
talk  of  oneself  to  the  general  is  like  putting  oneself 
in  the  hands  of  the  average  Heidelberg  student,  who 
has  been  to  the  morgue  to  select  a  cadaver.  Yes,  oh 
kindly  physician,  I  suppose  my  conception  of  life  has 
been  that  of  the  average  man;  but  only  recently  have 
I  realized  how  wofully  elementary.  What  is  it  to 
be  a  good  man?  Already  I  neither  smoke  nor  swear 
nor  drink;  but  we  are  scarcely  more  than  at  the 
beginning  of  the  unfoldment  of  our  powers  when  we 


160  The  House  of  Landell 

have  corrected  such  habits.  I  try  to  keep  fully 
alive  my  sense  of  moral  accountability  and  have 
rather  prided  myself  on  my  well-rounded  character; 
but  suddenly  I  feel  like  an  uninflated  toy  balloon. 
What  is  there  for  me  to  do!  Certainly  at  my  age  I 
have  not  compassed  all  of  life;  but  I  can  see  ahead 
only  a  little  more  grab  and  a  little  more  get.  I  do  not 
want  to  hunt  for  things  to  do.  I  want  things  de 
manded  of  me." 

"  Are  we  not  passing  beyond  the  crude  stage  in 
which  separate  traits  are  affected  by  deliberate  in 
tent?  It  is  only  children — in  age  or  unfoldment — 
whom  we  admonish  to  control  the  temper.  The  ma 
ture  character  has  entered  into  the  comprehension  that 
every  trait  is  interdependent  with  every  other  trait  and 
that  the  whole  of  the  inner  man  calls  for  balance." 

"  How  can  I  unfold  interdependent  traits  equally 
and  make  myself  of  value  in  the  working  world  ?  That 
is  what  we  men  face,  Agnes,"  his  voice  caressed  the 
name.  "  The  one-ideaed,  the  one-sided  man  seems  to 
gain  in  this  world.  I  can  find  as  much  to  say  on  one 
side  as  another.  But  if  I  do  it  how  can  I  plead  a  case  ? 
I  cannot.  I  believe  so  truly  in  the  right  of  the  indi 
vidual  that  I  hesitate  to  influence  minds  as  capable  as 
mine  of  thinking,"  he  continued.  "  You  notice  I  did 
not  urge  you  to  do  Judith,  that  long-to-be-remem 
bered  night.  I  would  not  for  the  world  come  between 
you  and  your  judgment.  Perhaps  you  thought  I  did 
not  care,  to  hear  you?  " 

"  I  did,"  said  Agnes,  contritely.  "  What  lessons  you 
are  teaching  me." 

"  Not  I !  I  want  you  to  help  me !  Do  you  hear !  " 
His  tones  were  almost  rough  in  their  intensity.  "  If  I 
refuse  to  use  influence,  what  becomes  of  my  place!  It 
is  a  blank !  Your  church  people,  whom  you  arraigned 
last  night,  would  tell  me  to  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 


The  House  of  Landell  161 

Christ  and  be  saved !  What  is  belief !  It  presupposes 
doubt !  What  is  it  to  be  saved  ?  From  what !  It  is  all 
a  quibble  of  words!  Belief  is  indefinite  and  indefinite- 
ness  does  not  construct  character!  To  believe  that 
Jesus  makes  it  for  us  is  to  acknowledge  ourselves  ef 
figies  instead  of  men.  I  am  far  more  certain  of  some 
so-called  intangibles  than  of  many  facts  accepted  by 
the  schoolmen  who  will  repudiate  them  as  soon  as  the 
next  text-books  are  printed.  I  have  glimmerings  of 
unknown  shapes  and  shadows — phases  of  life,  larger 
and  finer.  Like  you,  I  have  consciousness  of  much  I 
can  neither  place  nor  grasp.  I  want  to  be  truthful; 
but  what  is  truth  ?  Three  times  this  month,  in  response 
to  business  questions,  I  have  been  impelled  to  give  an 
swers  which  in  view  of  my  objective  knowledge  were 
false ;  but  which  subsequently  proved  correct.  Are  we 
not,  then,  captains  of  our  souls,  but  in  the  battle-field 
to  be  made  prisoners  of  war !  " 

"  You  helped  me  this  afternoon  by  telling  me  the 
very  things  you  are  waiting  to  have  me  tell  you  now. 
We  assure  by  our  own  assurance,  don't  we !  " 

"  You  do,  because  yours  is  of  the  right  sort !  May 
I  go  on  with  this  confession  ?  " 

Her  eyes  answered  him. 

"  I  want  to  be  a  tremendous  success  in  my  profes 
sion;  but  to  bend  all  energies  to  that  personal  issue  is 
to  warp  the  universal  in  me.  I  seek  wisdom  rather 
than  opinion;  truth  rather  than  argument.  As  the 
ultimate  of  truth  is  unreachable  until  the  entire  con 
sciousness  is  unfolded,  this  habit  of  mine  looks,  to  the 
positives,  as  if  I  never  decide  anything  finally — which 
I  don't.  Yet,  I  think  I  am  very  decided  in  action.  Can 
you  explain  the  paradox?" 

"  I  can  understand  it." 

"  What  becomes  of  leadership  if  every  adjustment 
entails  total  readjustment?  " 


1 62  The  House  of  Landell 

"  It  becomes  cooperation — 

"  How  can  I  ask  men  to  enlist  under  my  banner 
when,  at  any  moment,  in  the  light  of  new  vision,  I 
may  pull  it  down  and  hoist  another?  " 

"  *  A  foolish  consistency  is  the  hobgoblin  of  little 
minds.  With  consistency,  a  great  mind  has  nothing 
to  do,'  "  quoted  Agnes.  "  Or,  to  quote  further,  '  The 
future  does  not  belong  to  the  certain  people.'  Why  not 
pin  your  faith  on  principle  and  know  that  demonstra 
tion  must  follow.  After  all,  is  consistency  very  differ 
ent  from  viewing  the  heavens  through  a  magnifying 
glass  bought  for  fifteen  cents  at  a  department  store, 
instead  of  through  a  Lick  Observatory  telescope?" 

"  Already,  I  am  applying  a  different  lens  to  my 
heavens.  I  have  not  been  setting  my  needle  to  the 
north;  but  have  been  guiding  my  course  out  of  the 
harbor  by  the  electric  lights  along  the  shore.  Still,  I 
assert,  I  do  not  know  what  goodness  is !  "  He  straight 
ened  his  broad  shoulders  and  ran  his  fingers  through 
his  hair  with  a  winning  gesture.  "  I  don't  mean,  alone, 
with  regard  to  these  matters  of  daily  living, — though 
what  other  sort  is  there  than  daily,  for  every  day 
brings  a  new  day? — but  in  regard  to  matters  you 
opened  my  mind  to,  not  so  long  ago  in  point  of  time, 
but  long  ago  in  terms  of  growth.  Tell  me,  Agnes,  if 
there  is  no  personal  God — and  I  do  not  believe  there 
is — what  is  the  Maker  of  this  governing  principle  of 
which  we  speak  so  glibly — and  of  what  consequence 
is  this  that  we  call  prayer  ?  You  know  I  asked  you  that 
day  you  taught  me  there  is  a  vision  for  those  who  see." 

Agnes  lifted  her  face.    Her  soul  shone  in  her  eyes. 

"  I  have  no  moorings.  Would  I  had."  He  stum 
bled,  blindly,  on  the  curbstone. 

"  I  know  so  little  myself;  but  I  have  won  my  way 
inch  by  inch.  Sometimes,  for  months  there  has  been 
blank  despair ;  then  a  line,  a  phrase,  a  starbeam  falling 


The  House  of  Landell  163 

on  a  greensward,  a  voice,  has  led  me  on  '  o'er  crag  and 
torrent,'  till  now,  though  still  blinded  at  times,  I  am 
beginning  to  interpret  its  spirit.  Prayer  is  an  ener 
getic  desire.  It  creates  a  form  of  which  it  is  the  life, 
and,  through  its  energy,  man  becomes  conscious  of  his 
oneness  with  All." 

"  I  wonder  how  many  of  our  desires  are  sufficiently 
vitalized  to  create  form.  I  fear  many  are  abortions." 

"  Soulless  desires  disintegrate — are  dissipated 
through  lack  of  concentrative  force  to  hold  them  to 
gether." 

"  That  is  answer  to  the  query  why,  at  least,  some 
of  our  prayers  are  not  evidenced.  Go  on." 

"  Many  prayers  are  on  the  instinct  plane.  Rising 
from  this,  comes  the  desire  to  promote  the  moral  and 
intellectual  being.  Ideas  formed  on  the  thought  plane 
react  directly  on  the  one  who  forms  the  prayer  and 
establishes  conscious  communion  with  the  Source 
of  Life.  When  man  becomes  conscious  of  his  need  for 
growth  he  has  found  the  keynote  of  Universal  Life. 
There  sings  through  his  entire  being  that  his  Redeemer 
liveth  and  that  in  his  flesh  shall  he  see  God. 

"  Then  rises  within  him  not  a  petition  but  pure  wor 
ship  of  God.  No  longer  does  Jehovah  seem  a  merchant 
of  the  heavens  shoveling  shoes  and  sugar  down  upon 
the  faithful.  The  spirit  leaps  beyond  its  one-time 
bounds,  revealing  to  us  the  Christ  incarnate  in  each 
soul,  born  of  God,  manifesting  man,  one  with  the 
Father." 

"  I  told  you  it  would  come,  and  it  has,  even  in  teach 
ing  me."  The  light  in  his  face  was  beautiful,  as  he 
realized  that  she  was  revealing  unto  her  very  self,  the 
Christ.  But  a  shadow  crept  over  her's. 

"  Yes,  but  I  mean  the  dear  little  Jesus  who  lived  so 
long  ago,  in  Galilee.  How  is  His  blood  our  life  and 
our  salvation?  He  seems  to  me  a  huge  composite  of 


164  The  House  of  Landell 

agonies  which  it  is  disintegrating  to  the  emotions  to 
contemplate  and  to  the  integrity  to  give  expression  to. 
Even  viewed  intellectually  He  is  an  aggregate  of  the 
best  that  had  been  made  manifest  up  to  the  time  of 
His  coming — not  perfection,  for  perfect  strength  could 
not  have  been  translated  by  any  souls  then  incarnate." 

"  You  seemed  to  understand  that  evening  in  the 
prayer-meeting." 

"  I  realize  in  a  sense,  but  do  not  understand  each 
step." 

"  It  will  come,"  reiterated  Mevin,  softly,  "  even  as 
the  other.  Tell  me  more  about  prayer?  " 

"  Prayer  does  not  raise  action  above  the  plane  of 
one's  consciousness;  but,  being  an  active  force,  causes 
the  extension  of  consciousness  in  the  direction  of 
nobler  and  finer  expression.  In  moments  when  the 
mind  is  fixed  on  God,  His  secrets  are  revealed.  His 
disciples,  pure  in  heart,  see  God." 

"  Then  constantly  to  hold  the  sense  of  completeness 
is  prayer  ?  It  recharges  our  potential  energy,  through 
itself  revealing  the  answer,"  said  Mevin,  slowly  pon 
dering.  "  We  realize  that  nothing  not  already  in  the 
purpose  of  God's  will  can  be  longed  for  or  needed 
by  us.  It  is  in  Being.  It  is  for  us  to  make  manifest." 

"  I  know,  that,  for  me,  the  next  unfolding  step  is 
consciously  to  harmonize  and  make  interdependent, 
traits  which,  combined  with  manifestation,  make  the 
man;  unifying  present  unfoldment  with  present  intelli 
gence,  and  harmonizing  it  with  the  foreshadowed  one 
of  spiritual  consciousness." 

Her  face  became  white  with  a  peculiar  radiance. 

"  Mr.  Mevin,  we  are  emanations  of  God.  Our  latent 
power  is  infinite  for  it  is  the  unfolding  power  of  God. 
The  more  these  latent  possibilities  are  made  manifest, 
the  more  God  is  revealed,  the  Father  through  the  Son, 


The  House  of  Landell  165 

and  the  more  it  is  proved  that  the  Father  and  I  are 
One." 

She  ceased  speaking  and  her  face  became  "  trans 
lucent  to  the  flame  that  burns  within." 

They  walked  the  gentle  incline  to  the  great  gates  of 
steel,  the  tracery  of  whose  pattern  lay  in  stencilled 
shadows  upon  the  moonlit  driveway. 

"  I  am  wondering  how  and  where  to  direct  my  in 
telligence  and  desire  that  my  life  may  become  an  ex 
pressed  prayer  that  will  be  worth  while." 

"  The  world  is  waiting  for  men  who  can  build  a 
lasting  state  with  the  everlasting  qualities  of  courage 
and  aspiration." 

"  I  am  mentioned  for  the  legislature.  Have  I  the 
moral  right — I  have  the  courage — to  take  a  special 
platform  when  there  is  so  much  of  truth  on  every  side 
— so  much  ill  to  uphold,  or  good  to  deny,  whichever 
side  one  declares  for." 

"  The  state  needs  men  with  moral  power  like  your 
self,  to  raise  official  positions  to  planes  of  high  achieve 
ment." 

"  I  wish  I  could  bring  myself  into  the  court  of  high 
desire — desire  to  be — but  a  politician— 

"  It  is  poor  being  that  does  not  culminate  in  doing." 

"  Yes;  but  so  much  of  our  doing  shows  lack  of  be 
ing,"  Mevin  smiled  half  sadly,  half  amused.  "  It  is 
of  little  more  use  than  the  motions  of  my  Aunt  Je- 
rusha.  If  she  takes  a  trip  to  Worcester,  for  an  after 
noon's  shopping,  she  makes  a  dozen  lists,  beginning 
a  week  in  advance,  packs  her  bag  the  night  before,  and 
reaches  the  station  an  hour  ahead  of  time — and  I 
greatly  resemble  my  Aunt  Jerusha — at  least  in  my 
love-making,"  he  completed  the  sentence  to  himself, 
for  the  house  was  within  a  few  yards,  the  morrow 
measured  distance  and  time  and  space  for  them,  and 


1 66  The  House  of  Landell 

the  desire  of  his  soul  was  not  attained.  "  Dear  heart, 
will  you —  " 

"  Be  a  politician  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word." 
Agnes  was  tantalizingly  beautiful  as  her  vision  of, 
and  her  desire  for,  his  transfiguration  from  a  man  of 
selfish  action  to  one  of  service  made  her  unconscious  to 
his  plea  for  her  love. 

"  Not  yet !  "  he  sighed.  "  Not  yet !  Still  there  must 
be  something  personal  in  her  interest,  or  she  would  not 
be  so  eager  to  buckle  on  my  sword  and  shield.  Non 
sense,"  with  sudden  jealousy,  "  she  heard  a  stronger 
call  from  that  man  on  the  hill." 

"  Yes,"  Agnes  was  saying,  "  he  who  shows  moral 
greatness  in  a  position  that  misuse  has  covered  with 
obloquy,  and,  through  it,  correlates  thousands  to  the 
universal  purpose — he  is  a  good  man." 

There  was  silence.  Even  the  night  wind  was  still ; 
but  as  they  entered  the  loggia,  a  rising  breeze  caught 
her  lace  scarf.  It  caressed  his  hand.  She  swayed  to 
ward  him  as  her  foot  touched  a  slight  unevenness  in 
the  way,  and  the  air  and  the  landscape  danced  dizzily 
before  his  eyes,  as  the  trailing  bit  of  cobweb  bore  with 
it  a  message  over  which  he  pondered  in  passionate 
adoration  in  the  watches  of  the  night. 

"  You  have  aided  me  to  the  solution  of  a  great  many 
problems,  thisi  summer,"  he  said,  half  sadly,  half  joy 
fully,  as  they  paused  to  say  good-night. 

"  Can  I  help  you  further  ?  "  Still  she  was  innocent 
of  what  his  heart  would  say. 

"  Always  you  will  help  me." 

Breathing  heavily,  he  turned  from  her. 

"  Near  me  or  afar,  you  will  speak  to  me  from  your 
soul;  but  seeing  myself,  as  through  your  purity  you 
have  revealed  me  to  myself,  I  am  going  away,  know 
ing  you  have  not  heard  me  plead  with  you,  be- 


The  House  of  Landell  167 

cause  your  mind  shines  high  in  the  empyrean  of  an 
ideal  I  have  not  reached." 

He  looked  into  her  face.  Alive  as  it  was  with  the 
spiritual  power  evoked,  there  was  an  almost  unbeliev 
able  ignorance  as  to  the  meaning  of  his  words.  Only 
love  for  humanity  in  the  abstract  shone  from  her  eyes. 

"  I  am  going  away  to  learn  the  language  you  speak, 
that,  sometime,  I  may  make  you  understand." 

As  he  spoke  lovingly,  she  wondered  that  her  heart 
lapsed,  suddenly,  into  the  depression  surely  following 
upon  her  moments  of  exaltation.  They  lingered  a 
little  longer,  she,  conscious  of  the  infinite  about  them, 
he,  conscious  only  of  her.  He  released  her  hand,  which 
he  had  held  in  parting,  and  passed  swiftly  from  her 
sight. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

"  On  Monday  I  fall  in  love, 
On  Tuesday  I  say  so, 
On  Wednesday  I  declare  my  suit, 
On  Thursday  I  win  my  sweetheart, 
On  Friday  I  make  her  jealous, 
And  on  Saturday  and  Sunday — 
/  hunt  for  a  new  love." 

'  TING,  ting,"  sounded  the  door-bell  of  the  pleasant 
Southern  home  one  warm  summer  morning.  "  Ting, 
ting!" 

"  Snowball,  run  to  the  do'/'  said  Mattee  Sue  Ro- 
maine,  who,  at  the  moment  of  the  interruption,  was 
wrestling  with  her  luxuriant  hair.  "  How  I  do  wish  I 
could  have  an  absolutely  personal  maid,  like  mauma  did 
befo'  the  wa'." 

"  That  marvelous  '  before  the  war,'  "  sighed  her  sis 
ter  Etta,  looking  up  with  graceful  indolence  from  the 
window-seat  where  she  was  reading,  "  when  our  stables 
were  full  of  thoroughbreds  and  the  fair  mistress  of 
the  big  house  rode  a  palfrey  in  the  dewy  morn  and  an 
Arabian  stallion  in  the  shadowy  eve.  Damsels  floated 
about  ancestral  halls  in  damask  satins  that  stood  alone 
and  swept  the  marble  floors.  Not  one  but  many  maids 
would  hasten  to  place  pearls  like  pigeons'  eggs  in 
ears— 

"  Z'Etta,  do  hush  your  extravagance !  "  and,  with 
charming  camaraderie,  Mattee  Sue  interrupted  her  sis 
ter.  "  I  never  can  utter  one  modest  little  wish,  'thout 
you  launch  forth  a  whole  avalanche  of  superlatives ! " 

"  At  least,  I  sound  some  of  my  letters  and  do  not 
168 


The  House  of  Landell  169 

leave  my  ideas  wholly  to  the  listener's  imagination," 
retorted  Etta. 

"  The  idea  of  you  with  your  back  trailin'  about  in 
gowns  heavy  enough  to  stand  alone!  An'  pigeons' 
eggs  hangin'  from  your  ears !  Z'Etta,  w'at  a  spectacle 
you'd  make !  As  for  marble  halls,  I  reckon  there  were 
deal  floors  befo'  the  wa'  just  as  there  are  now." 

"You  are  so  unresponsive,"  reproached  Etta; 
"  Uncle  Dudley  says  that  such  a  reign  of  regal  splen 
dor  and  luxury  never  has  been  known  since  the  days 
of  the  Caesars." 

"If  you  want  to  trail  round  in  somethin'  heavy,  take 
your  adj  ectives !  They  will  be  easier  for  your  back 
and  more  amusin'  to  the  public." 

Mattee  Sue  tossed  her  mane  of  beautiful  hair  into 
its  accustomed  coils  and  laughed  wickedly. 

"  Yes,  Miss  Wright  told  me  at  school  that  adjec 
tives  were  my  worst  enemy,"  was  Etta's  pensive  re 
sponse.  "  Are  you  going  to  take  part  in  the  dime 
museum,  Mattee  Sue?  " 

"  Not  I !  Miss  Mary  didn't  like  it  because  mauma 
wouldn't  let  me  be  a  mermaid.  For  my  part,  I  think 
it's  a  disgrace  to  be  gettin'  up  dime  museums  for  the 
Church;  but  Miss  Mary  says  we  mustn't  be  splittin' 
straws.  She  says  she  was  not  angry,  only  deeply 
wounded,  because  mauma  refused  to  let  me  be  a  mer 
maid.  Think  of  me,  sittin'  all  the  evenin'  with  my  feet 
pasted  into  a  paper  tail !  Were  is  that  Snowball !  Aw, 
Snowball!  How  one  does  have  to  squall!  If  you  try 
to  be  fashionable  and  ring  a  bell,  you  have  to  squall 
out  that  you've  rung  it.  Aren't  you  'shamed,  Snow 
ball,  to  be  so  slow!  Brer  Wolf  will  eat  you  up  one 
of  these  days,  if  you  don't  lift  your  feet  quicker." 

Snowball — so  named  in  happy  contrast  to  her 
jet-black  countenance — with  tantalizing  deliberation, 
handed  her  sparkling  little  mistress  a  letter. 


170  The  House  of  Landell 

"  Wat  stunnin'  stationery."  Critically,  its  owner 
scrutinized  the  envelope,  then  opening  it  glanced 
through  the  contents  with  excited  haste,  bubbling  with 
amusement  that  climaxed,  finally,  in  peals  of  laughter. 
Turning  to  the  beginning  she  reread  it,  gleams  of  mis 
chief  dancing  in  and  out  from  her  bewitching  face  like 
fairies  playing  hide  and  seek. 

"  Z'Etta,  look  at  this ! "  finally  thrusting  the  paper 
into  her  sister's  hand,  as  she  sat,  her  book  having 
fallen  from  her  hands,  watching  Mattee  Sue  mysti 
fied. 

"  What  is  it  all  about  ?  That  envelope  signifies  a 
most  fascinating  personality.  I  adore  personality !  It 
means  more  to  me  every  day  I  live."  Curiosity  im 
pelled  her  to  cross  the  room  to  where  Mattee  Sue  stood 
watching  her  gleefully,  with  her  to  scrutinize  every 
detail  of  this  messenger  from  a  far-off  land. 

"  There  is  personality  enough  to  please  even  you  and 
impudence  enough  to  please  even  me,"  she  sparkled. 
"  The  man  must  have  written  that  document  with  a 
thesaurus  on  his  knee.  It's  awfully  easy  to  spot  a  the 
saurus  hunter,  Z'Etta,  so  beware.  I've  caught  up  with 
you  ever  so  many  times.  A  dictionary  is  safer,  be 
sides,  it  bears  the  dignity  of  its  weight  with  it.  Use 
a  dictionary,  Z'Etta,  not  a  thesaurus !  " 

Etta  took  the  letter  again  and  read  the  inscription. 
Then  she  turned  the  envelope  and  read  the  address : 

"  Tom  Landell,  Beneby,  Massachusetts.  It's  a 
homely  name.  Where  did  you  meet  him  ?  " 

"  Dr.  Genung  introduced  us.  The  letter  will  tell 
you,—  '1 

"  Who  is  Dr.  Genung, — oh,—  "  having,  by  this  time, 
begun  the  perusal  of  the  letter,  Etta  grew  more  and 
more  absorbed,  forgetting  to  maintain  her  expression 
of  indignation  with  which,  as  an  elder  sister,  she  had 
felt  it  her  duty  to  adorn  her  countenance. 


The  House  of  Landell  171 

"What  consummate  impudence!  Of  course  you 
will  not  reply,"  and,  reluctantly,  Etta  returned  the  let 
ter  to  its  owner,  who  at  once  occupied  herself  in  read 
ing  it  again. 

"  Certainly  I  shall.  On  such  unimpeachable  spon 
sorship,  I  shall  hasten  to  reply.  Did  you  ever  hear  such 
a  string  of  big  words  in  all  your  life !  Oh,  yes,  of  co'se 
you  have  for  you  never  use  any  other  kind.  Mauma, 
I  may  answer  this  letter,  mayn't  I,  dearee?"  and  she 
turned  to  her  mother  who  had  entered  the  room. 
"  Can't  you  see  that  it  is  honest !  Can't  you  feel  it, 
mauma !  Just  listen !  " 

Mattee  Sue  read  the  letter  with  significant  em 
phasis  and  dramatic  touches  of  her  own.  Then 
Mrs.  Romaine  took  it,  examined  the  handwriting,  and 
read  it  a  second  time. 

"  I  like  its  ring,"  she  returned,  passing  the  sheet 
back  to  Mattee  Sue. 

"  And  I  may  answer  it,  mayn't  I,  dearee  ?  He  must 
be  an  aristocrat  or  he  wouldn't  follow  up  the  genealogy 
of  his  books.  That  distinctly  dubs  him  as  one  of  the 
'  Who's  Who  '  of  the  country." 

"  It  hall-marks  him  as  a  curiosity  box,"  scoffed 
Etta. 

Mattee  Sue  laughed  good-naturedly. 

"  Z'Etta,  do  hush  your  perfectly  dreadfully  super 
cilious  remarks.  Do  you  run  down-stairs  and  watch 
for  Max  to  reciproce  with  while  I  labor  with  mauma's 
sense  of  propriety,  w'ich  is  simply  terrifyin'  in  its 
rigidity.  I  know  it  will  take  skill  to  do  it,  but  if  I 
write  just  the  proper  sort  of  reply,  I  know  you  will  let 
me  send  it,  won't  you,  dearee?"  she  cooed,  mischiev 
ously,  as  she  opened  her  writing-desk  in  search  of  her 
finest  note-paper. 

"  I  wish  I  had  some  better  stationery,"  when,  finally, 


172  The  House  of  Landell 

she  found  the  box.  '  This  looks  painfully  common  in 
view  of  his  smashin'  stuff." 

"  Don't  you  want  my  paper  with  my  initials  on  it?  " 
teased  Etta. 

"Just  the  thing!  It  ought  to  take  both  of  us  to 
answer  that  man.  Don't  you  notice  w'at  he  says  about 
the  witty  annotations  on  the  margin?  You  know  it 
took  both  our  brains  to  concoct  most  of  them,  and,  as 
I  intend  to  compose  the  reply,  I  might  let  you  provide 
the  paper  but  for  the  fact  that  he  might  suspect  it 
is  poverty  that  leads  to  the  use  of  community  sta 
tionery.  I  always  did  say  you  and  I,  together,  would 
make  a  very  good  one.  Hurry!  I  see  Max  comin' 
round  the  corner,  now." 

"  I  wish  something  romantic  would  happen  to  me," 
thought  Etta,  the  youth  within  her  yearning  for  some 
unusual  experience.  "  It  is  a  shame  I  am  engaged. 
Now,  I  suppose,  romance  must  be  banished  forever." 

Pensively,  she  descended  the  stairs  to  greet  her 
fiance,  and,  half  an  hour  later,  Mattee  Sue,  flying  down 
to  the  piazza  to  read  to  her  sister  the  results  of  her 
cogitations,  found  the  two  enjoying  fresh  teacakes  and 
lemonade. 

"  You  don't  mean  mama  has  permitted  you  to  an 
swer  that  man !  "  cried  Etta,  horrified. 

"  Just  this  once,"  tantalized  Mattee  Sue.  "  Then  the 
lid  is  to  be  shut  tight  on  the  boilin'  pot  of  friendly 
intercourse,  and  unless  it  mysteriously  slips  off  the 
correspondence  will  bubble  into  vapor  and  disappear." 

"  What  did  you  say !  Come,  tell  a  fellow !  "  urged 
Max. 

"  I  told  him  I  belonged  to  one  of  the  first  families  of 
Georgia,  an'  referred  him  to  '  All  the  People's  Maga 
zine,'  for  pictures  of  us  an'  our  houses,  in  case  he  never 
had  been  South  and  wanted  accurate  information.  I 
even  told  him  the  date  of  the  periodical  that  published 


The  House  of  Landell  173 

that  travesty  on  truth,  Z'Etta,  with  pictures  of  hen 
coops  and  scrawny  dogs  and  heaps  of  the  great  un 
washed  tobacco  chewers  of  the  mountains,  with  the 
titles,  First  Families  of  Georgia,  under  those  mockeries 
of  feudal  domain, — shanty  and  cur, — and  I  say  it's 
calumny, — depicted, — by  the  writers  of  things  as  they 
see  them  for  the  magazine  of  things  as  they  are — or 
are  not — accordin'  to  w'at  one  knows  of  his  subject. 
You  needn't  groan, — there's  more  to  follow.  I  told 
him  we  used  to  be  rich  befo'  the  wa' ;  but  now  we  were 
livin'  on  the  four  corners  of  our  plantation — Yankees 
always  think  we  have  plantations  and  nothin'  else  an' 
don't  know  w'ether  they  are  farms  or  gold  mines — an' 
that  pretty  soon  we  shall  be  eatin'  the  middle." 

Etta  shuddered,  while  Max  laughed,  and  Mattee  Sue 
caught  her  breath  preliminary  to  another  volley. 

"  Yes,  and  then, — oh  Major  Verness,  how  very  glad 
I  am  to  see  you,"  she  interrupted  herself  to  greet 
a  man  of  military  bearing,  who  just  then  rode  up  on 
horseback  and,  alighting,  moved  about  the  group,  shak 
ing  hands  all  round. 

"  Oh,  Major,  let  me  take  your  photograph !  You  look 
just  as  you  did  that  long-to-be-remembered  day  last 
year,  w'en  you  brought  Mrs.  Lavelle  the  first  Cherokee 
roses  she  had  ever  seen.  I  know  she  is  just  dyiri  to 
see  you,  Major,  an'  I  feel  that  it  is  absolutely  impera 
tive  for  her  to  have  a  picture.  Look  your  handsomest. 
Photographin'  is  the  psychological  portrait  painter  of 
the  future  an'  I'll  represent  your  state  of  mind  ac 
curately,  if  only  you  will  give  me  a  state  of  mind  to 
photograph." 

A  little  flush  which  delighted  the  irrepressible  girl 
rose  to  the  Major's  face.  Busily,  she  arranged  the 
large  camera,  deftly  drawing  it  from  its  position 
against  the  wall,  every  movement  piquant,  direct,  and 
exquisitely  fascinating. 


174  The  House  of  Landell 

"  Ready,  Major!  Don't  brush  back  your  hair!  It 
looks  so  romantic,  that  way !  Your  adoration  is  to  be 
captured  an'  is  goin'  to  the  sweetest  widow  in  Massa 
chusetts,  sure  as  fate!  " 

"  You  are  a  wicked  little  tease,  Miss  Mattee  Sue," 
the  Major  looked  with  mock  reproach  upon  the  win 
some  little  figure  flitting  to  and  fro,  reminding  him, 
for  all  the  world,  of  a  sunbeam,  appearing  and  dis 
appearing  upon  a  heavenly  morning. 

"  She  is  worse  than  that,  Major,"  said  Max,  "  she 
is  a  wicked  little  flirt,  as  well." 

"  Major  Verness,  do,  please,  take  up  for  me!  Not 
that  I  am  averse  to  flirtin' — not  a  bit —  '  again  the 
sunshine  of  her  attention  caressed  him,  causing  a  sense 
of  light  and  harmony  and  virility  to  supplant  any  sense 
he  might  have  felt  of  the  heaviness  of  life. 

"  I  like  to  flirt,"  she  was  singing  on,  in  rhythmic  flow, 
"  Z'Etta  likes  to  reciproce — George  Eliot's  definition 
of  w'at  seems  to  me  to  be  perilously  near  the  same 
thing.  However,  if  it  makes  Z'Etta  feel  any  better  to 
call  the  rose,  oleander,  it's  all  the  same  to  me.  She 
looks  fearfully  depressed  if  I  accuse  her  of  flirtin'; 
but  if  I  acknowledge  that  her  droopin'  eyes  betoken 
only  the  passage  of  a  reciprocity  bill  she  chirks  up  at 
once.  Really,  Major,  though  I  would  not  for  the 
world  have  you  think  I  object  to  flirtin'  I  truly  don't 
think  I  deserve  the  reputation,  an'  I  never  wish  to 
take  w'at  doesn't  belong  to  me,  especially  reputation, 
for  I  didn't  know  that  man  was  goin'  to  buy  my  second 
hand  book,— 

"  What  is  all  this  about  ?  I  haven't  the  least  idea," 
and,  as  the  click  of  the  camera  gave  the  Major  release, 
he  went  to  Mattee  Sue's  side  and  watched  her  slip  the 
plate  from  the  instrument  and  place  it  in  safety,  pend 
ing  development. 


The  House  of  Landell  175 

Vivaciously,  and  ably  seconded  by  Etta,  Mattee  Sue 
told  the  story  of  the  travelling  rhetoric. 

"  I  decided,  at  once,  that  he  is  a  most  proper  person 
for  me  to  know;  but  I  am  sorry,  Major,"  with  a  de 
licious  melancholy,  "  I  seem  to  have  a  very  suspicious 
family.  It  grieves  me  to  find  my  own  dear  mauma 
so  prone  to  judge  upon  insufficient  evidence.  /  de 
mand  further  evidence  before  /  pass  judgment  upon  a 
fellow  creature.  I  will  not  permit  myself  to  think  so 
harshly  of  a  human  being  who  seems  so  innocent  and 
harmless.  It  hurts  me  to  see  that  bein'  engaged  so 
warps  one's  sympathies.  Z'Etta  is  so  different  from 
me.  My  sympathies  are  broad.  I  hold  out  my 
arms— 

"  Indeed  we  are  different ! "  Etta's  embroidery 
grew  beneath  her  skilful  fingers.  "  When  our  fairy 
godmother  went  through  the  storehouse  of  our  heredi 
tary  traits  to  find  suitable  gifts  for  Mattee  Sue  and  me, 
she  found  grandpa's  and  great-uncle  William's  tem 
peraments  well  expressed  through  a  verse  they  had 
collaborated  in  childhood.  The  differences  displayed 
so  interested  the  fairy,  that  she  decided  on  Great- 
uncle's  part  of  the  quatrain  as  key-note  for  Mattee 
Sue's  disposition,  and  grandpa's  part  as  key-note  for 
mine.  Hence,  the  diversity  of  our  characteristics." 

"What  is  the  verse?"  The  Major  settled  himself 
in  a  chaise  longue,  prepared  for  amusement. 

"  Grandpa's  two  lines  are—  '  Etta  repeated  slowly 
and  with  long-drawn  rhythmic  swing, 

"  '  The  sun's  mellifluous  rays 

Illumine  the  depths  of  the  sea!' 

" '  The   fishes   beginning   to   sweat, 

Cry,  "Hang  it,  how  hot  it  will  be!"' 

is   great-uncle    William's,"   caught  up   Mattee   Sue's 


176  The  House  of  Landell 

cheery  voice,  with  crisp  rapidity  and  the  staccato 
chipper  of  a  bird, — "  And  that  is  me,  all  over !  Major, 
have  you  heard  from  Mrs.  Lavelle,  recently?" 

The  Major  positively  jumped  at  this  sudden  thrust, 
and  flushed  as  he  saw  how  easily  he  had  fallen  into  the 
toils  of  the  little  madcap,  who  laughed  saucily. 

"  I  have  half  a  mind  to  hold  your  hand  until  you 
tell  me  you're  sorry  you've  pulled  the  heart-strings  of 
a  poor  old  bachelor  so  cruelly,  little  lady,"  and  he 
settled  back  into  his  comfortable  position. 

'  Then  it  would  be  a  long  time  before  I  said  it," 
Mattee  Sue  twinkled  in  the  joy  of  repartee. 

'  There,  there,  Miss  Mattee  Sue,  quit  your  reciproc- 
ing,  and  show  me  how  to  manage  this  thing!"  and 
Max  moved  the  camera  into  position  for  photograph 
ing  his  divine  Etta. 

"  It  is  easy  enough !  I  snapped  you  and  Etta  the 
other  mornin'  w'en  you  were  standin'  over  there  bid- 
din'  each  other  good-bye  as  if  you  never  expected  to 
see  each  other  again.  You  didn't  notice  me ;  but  w'en 
people  don't  notice  me,  it's  no  sign  I  don't  notice  them. 
Here's  the  proof !  " 

The  indefatigable  little  mischief  drew  a  photograph 
from  a  box  on  a  table  near-by,  displaying  it  with 
wicked  glee.  "  See  how  perfectly  silly  you  look.  You 
were  talkin'  about  developin'  a  picture  or  more  love — 
one—  " 

"  Daughter,  it  is  quite  time  for  you  to  eliminate 
some  of  your  provincialisms,"  interpolated  Mrs.  Ro- 
maine  with  exquisite  intonation.  "  Do  pronounce  your 
g's  once  in  a  while.  You  sound  altogether  too  much 
like  Maum  Henny." 

"  Yes,  ma'am,  I  will  try,  ma'am." 

"  Ma'am!  "  mocked  Etta,  good-naturedly.  "  Mama, 
she  will  have  to  drop  that  delicious  reminiscence  of 
past  training,  pretty  soon,  won't  she!  I  wish  she 


The  House  of  Landell  177 

wouldn't  call  me  sister,  any  more,  either.  All  those 
phrases  are  so  old-fashioned— 

"  And  beautiful,"  interpolated  the  Major. 

"  But  to  be  relegated— 

"  To  the  times  w'en  you  would  ride  a  palfrey  in 
the  dewy  morn,  eh,  Z'Etta?  "  Mattee  Sue  drooped  her 
eyes  to  open  them  again  with  a  comic  look  of  despair. 
"  But  truly,  mauma,  there  are  so  many  things  to  do  and 
say  I  don't  see  how  you-all  take  the  time  to  finish  off 
every  word  as  you  do!  "  Then,  with  the  flash  of  the 
bird  on  the  wing — "  I  do  hope  Tom  Landell  will  like 
my  letter.  Oh,  Max,  I  forgot  to  tell  you,  Z'Etta  said  it 
was  a  shame  she  was  engaged." 

"Etta,  is  that  true?"  said  Max,  quickly,  in  an  in 
tense  undertone.  "  You  do  not  deny  it !  "  and,  leav 
ing  the  group,  they  walked  hastily  to  the  further  end  of 
the  piazza,  in  excited  colloquy. 

The  rest  of  the  party  chatted  on  until  the  arrival 
of  the  postman.  Mattee  Sue  ran  to  the  top  of  the  steps 
to  receive  the  mail.  Sorting  it  deftly  and  quickly,  she 
passed  from  one  to  another  of  the  group. 

"  Here  are  three  for  Z'Etta."  She  gave  a  quick 
glance  in  the  direction  of  the  two,  still  talking  earnestly, 
"  I  won't  give  them  to  her,  now,  I  reckon  I  set  Max 
ravin'  (raving!}  " — looking  bewitchingly  at  her 
mother  while  giving  a  vengeful  little  twitch  to  the  final 
g — "  by  my  last  remark.  W'en  I  throw  a  bomb.  I 
don't  follow  to  investigate  results — or,  at  least,  not 
for  ten  minutes !  Here  is  a  letter  for  you,  mauma,  two 
for  granma,  an'  here,"  and  she  flashed  a  triumphant 
smile  at  Major  Verness,  "  is  a  letter  from  Mrs.  La- 
velle." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A  Jewish  prophet  writes — 

"  He  hath  made  the  earth  by  His  Power, 

He  hath  established  the  world  by  His  Wisdom; 

And  hath  stretched  out  the  heavens  by  His  Under 
standing." 

"  I  try  and  I  try ;  but  I  simply  can't !  It  means  a 
dark  room  and  a  bed  for  days ! " 

On  her  way  to  a  church  meeting,  Agnes  paused,  her 
hand  on  the  door  knob,  and,  with  a  great  wave  of  in 
capacity  surging  over  her,  attempted  to  will  herself  into 
activity. 

"  Am  I  halted  by  lack  of  will,  or  are  my  emotions 
pushing  the  instrument  beyond  its  limits?  In  either 
case  I  have  not  thought  through,  sufficiently,  to  corre 
late  mind  and  heart,  so  I  will  elect  not  to  go." 

She  returned  to  the  library,  where,  a  little  later, 
Tom  found  her. 

"  Another  cyclone  brewing,  Agnesia  ?  "  With  con 
cern,  he  saw  her  hopeless  look.  "  It  is  some  time  since 
you  had  one.  What  is  it  ?  " 

"  I  see  looming  before  me  a  lot  of  church  work  I 
have  no  strength  for." 

"  Who  makes  up  your  mind  for  you,  yourself  or  the 
public?  "  said  Tom,  a  trifle  dictatorially. 

"  If  I  carry  out  yours  and  Dr.  Wehr's  advice  of 
dropping  the  execution  of  my  plans  because  of  pre 
conceived  ideas,  I  shall  soon  be  the  '  automatic  instru 
ment  of  desire '  and  an  inconsequential  goose.  What 
is  his  theory,  anyway,  in  advising  a  grown  woman  to 
run  about  like  a  headless  chicken !  " 

178 


The  House  of  Landell  179 

"  You  know  as  well  as  I,"  laughed  Tom.  "  If  I  felt 
competent  to  teach  one  who,  in  herself,  possesses  so 
much  wisdom,  I  should  say  it  was  to  prove  to  said 
woman  the  value  of  a  head." 

"  Talk  to  me,  Tom."  Wearily  she  laid  her  cheek 
against  her  brother's  shoulder. 

"  I  puzzle  by  myself,  until,  sometimes,  I  feel  as  if 
I  should  accomplish  more  were  I  headless.  Why  must 
I  puzzle  so,  over  what  others  take  on  simple  faith? 
What  does  it  mean  to  say,  God  use  me?  Surely,  not 
that  I  am  to  deny  my  intelligence  and  do  more  than  I 
can !  I  see  so  much  mischief  wreaked  by  willing,  with 
repression  and  without  judgment,  that  I  wish  that,  for 
awhile,  I  could  lose  sight  of  the  word  will.  Spirit 
should  counsel  my  soul  to  tell  my  mind  what  to  do,  and 
reason  would  not  let  more  be  piled  upon  my  body  than 
it  is  equal  to !  " 

"  There  are  your  directions,  right  there !  Don't  con 
trol  anything,  yourself  or  any  one  or  anything.  It 
induces  repression  or  abnormal  expression.  Cooperate 
and  coordinate.  Tell  me,  has  control  ever  cured  a 
headache  ?  " 

"  Never.  It  always  makes  me  worse.  Then  comes 
self-condemnation  because  I  have  failed —  " 

"  At  something  it  is  probably  fortunate  you  have 
failed  at.  In  my  work,  it  is  a  delight  to  watch  the 
effects  of  substituting,  among  abnormal  or  defective 
children,  cooperation  and  coordination  for  will.  The 
latter  frightens  and  discourages.  We  are  all  suffi 
ciently  children  to  find  value  in  applying  this  child- 
training  to  ourselves." 

"  Tell  me  about  it !  "  Agnes  settled  into  a  less  tense 
position,  her  eyes  alert  with  interest. 

"  The  you  must  and  you  shall  inhibits  or  over-stimu 
lates  instead  of  equalizing  activities,  and  they  are  con 
stantly  furling  their  standards  before,  /  need  not  unless 


i8o  The  House  of  Landell 

/  want  to,  but  I  want  to,  you  bet!  We  had  a  lot  of 
kiddoos  who  took  no  care  of  their  teeth,"  he  continued, 
himself  learning  lessons,  as  he  saw  that  his  sister,  who 
had  quivered  under  the  whiplash  of  his  criticism,  re 
bounded  when  constructive  principles  were  presented 
which  she  could  apply  to  her  own  need. 

"  We  had  tried,  you  must,  and  you  shall,  and  you'll 
be  sick  if  you  do  and  it  amounted  to, — just  that!  " — • 
he  snapped  his  fingers.  "  Finally,  one  of  the  fellows 
thought  of  putting  on  the  table  of  the  assembly  room 
a  skull  with  very  dirty  teeth  and  another  with  clean 
fine  ones.  The  kiddoos  shied  about  them  for  awhile. 
At  last,  one  of  them  jerked  his  thumb  in  the  direction 
of  the  first  skull  and  asked  if  his  teeth  looked  like  that. 
I  replied  they  did,  and  worse.  He  asked  what  he 
could  do  about  it.  Toothbrushes  followed  this  query. 
Mastication,  the  dentist  and  public  opinion  did  the 
rest." 

"  So,  once  in  a  while,  you  do  advocate  the  study  of 
opposites,  not  for  dissection  but  for  comparison?" 
Agnes  smiled.  "  Is  this  method  as  satisfactory  in 
dealing  with  those  who  lack  wills,  as  with  the  wilful?  " 

"  Equally." 

"  How  about  those  without  determination  or  desire 
to  affiliate  mentally  the  pictures  you  place  before 
them?" 

"  Better  than  the  old  method,  by  far." 

"  I  have  followed  this  idea  in  my  thought  when  I 
have  said,  '  It  is  my  soul  that  avails.'  I  imagine  that 
I  am  proving  my  meaning,  until  suddenly,  I  find  the 
contrary.  We  are  wiser  than  we  express —  " 

"  Or  than  we  realize.  You  are  developing  your 
negative  splendidly." 

"  I  am  growing  more  selfish  every  day." 

"  More  wisely  helpful,  you  mean." 

"  See  how  I  am  treating  Cousin  Matilda !     I  pay 


The  House  of  Landell  181 

no  attention  to  her  incisions  into  the  privacy  of  my 
mind." 

"  With  what  result !  "    Tom's  eyes  twinkled. 

"  She  is  becoming  a  perfect  angel.  She  never  sends 
for  me  now  on  wild-goose  chases.  She  was  very  sar 
castic,  at  first,  when,  in  a  way,  she  felt  that  her  ar 
rows  were  not  reaching  their  mark." 

"In  short,  she  respects  you.  To  her,  that  means 
everything." 

"  I  am  studying  myself,  and  believe  my  struggles 
are  for  the  maintenance,  not  the  giving  up  of  my  will. 
I  have  the  sense  of  conquering  in  the  large  matters  of 
life.  It  is  in  these  insidiously  small  details,  when  the 
watchfulness  is  asleep,  that  I  find  myself — " 

"  Yes,  and  when  your  kindliness  is  appealed  to.  I 
recall  that  when  my  mother  sent  me  off  to  school  the 
last  thing  she  said  to  me  was,  '  Many  men  and  wo 
men  have  parted  with  their  integrity  through  the  de 
sire  to  be  kind.'  You  make  up  your  mind,  then  have 
the  agonies  over  it.' ' 

"Don't  you?" 

"  Not  I !  I  make  up  my  mind,  then  put  the  matter 
out  of  my  mind." 

"  I  believe  some  are  born  the  other  way  round." 

"  How  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"Some  grow  to  an  ideal  by  way  of  ideas;  some 
have  an  ideal  and  express  it  through  ideas." 

"  One  analyzes,  one  synthesizes,  and  one  synchro 
nizes,  eh?  Yes,  you  are  right." 

"  Some  grow  a  plot  as  they  transcribe  ideas ;  some 
build  a  plot  before  they  touch  pen  to  paper.  Tom, 
there  is  something  else  that  worries  me." 

"  This  habit  of  worry  is  due  to  your  physical  con 
dition.  Our  medicines — 

"  Yes,  dearie,  I  know,  and  I  believe  in  them 
thoroughly  under  certain  conditions,  and  I  am  sure  that 


1 82  The  House  of  Landell 

the  stronger  and  better  balanced  the  instrument  of  ex 
pression,  the  better  equipped  it  is  to  discriminate ;  but 
how  can  your  medicines  act  on  a  bona  fide  message 
from  outside — I  want  to  know,  to  perceive  unto  real 
ization,  without  the  pyrotechnic  display  of  apparitions 
or  spectacular  premonitions.  I  can  but  feel  that  phys 
ical  depletion  is  not  the  cause  of  my  extension  of  vision, 
nor  do  I  wish  to  inhibit  it  for  it  enables  me  to  be  pre 
pared  for  what  otherwise  would  come  as  a  shock,  find 
me  unprepared,  and  overwhelm  me." 

"  Does  it  ever  avert  the  undesirable  ?  " 

"  It  would  if  I  knew  how  to  train  it,  I  am  sure." 

"  Tell  me.    Perhaps  I  can  help  you." 

"  I  don't  mean  to  be  always  bringing  up  myself  '  to 
point  a  moral  and  adorn  a  tale '  — she  stopped  sud 
denly,  then  began  again — 

"  When  I  was  a  child,  I  distinctly  saw  myself  (my 
real  self)  in  the  air  above  this  embodiment,  which  was 
being  dissected.  I  was  conscious  and  enjoyed  the  pro 
ceeding  thoroughly.  So  it  is  in  life.  I  do  not  mean 
to  be  self-centred, —  " 

"  No,  you  live,  dear,  that  is  it,  live.  You  do  not  go 
to  the  show  of  life  and  sit  in  the  parquet,  you  are 
one  of  the  performers.  You  are  unique.  No  other  is 
just  like  you,  therefore,  when  you  take  a  subject  for 
dissection  you  take  yourself  as  one  having  the  qualities 
of  the  others  and  more,  too.  For  this  reason,  you 
stand  out,  and  to  some  would  seem  to  step  out  from  the 
rest." 

"  I  do  not  intend  to  intrude  myself  or  my  opin 
ions— 

"  No,  it  is  your  close  analysis  of  any  subject — your 
self  included — and  your  desire  carefully  to  express,  by 
word  or  action,  that  would  by  some  be  taken  as  in 
sistence  in  your  own  opinion  or  the  putting  of  your 
own  personality  before  the  limelight." 


The  House  of  Landell  183 

"  I  do  not  think  I  am  self-centred,  Tom." 

"  Not  sufficiently  so.  If  you  were  more  sure  of 
yourself,  and  better  pleased  with  your  results,  you 
would  have  serener  atmosphere  and  steadier  poise." 

"  '  The  gods  look  down,  incurious  of  themselves.' ' 

"  It  is  a  deep  depreciation  of  your  powers ;  an  in 
tolerant  scorn  of  your  output — a  kind  of  divine  dis 
content — that  turns  your  thought  back  upon  your 
work,  and,  to  a  superficial  observer,  sometimes  gives 
the  impression  of  self-sufficiency.  In  other  words,  you 
are  always  looking  upon  yourself  as  a  spoiled  copy 
of  some  rare  edition.  Now,  having  analyzed  you  as 
a  subject, — as  my  very  dear  sister,  what  can  I  do  for 
you?  Tell  me  what  troubles  you.  I  will  do  my  best 
to  decide  whether  it  is  *  symptoms  '  amenable  to  rem 
edies,  or  extension  of  the  sense  perception,  as  you  deem 
it." 

"  One  must  be  the  outcome  of  a  very  negative  and 
the  other  of  a  very  positive  state,  shouldn't  you  think 
so?  I  am  both,  some  of  the  time,  and  neither  all  of 
the  time,"  she  sighed,  "  I  don't  know  what  to  do." 

"  What  is  it,  Agnes  ?  You  are  so  tantalizing  to  keep 
from  me  what  may  prove  a  delicious  pathological  tid 
bit." 

"  Don't  say  that!  One  great  joy  in  my  talks  with 
you  is  that  you  never  give  me  the  feeling  that  you  are 
a  Heidelberg  student  rushing  to  the  morgue  for  a 
cadaver,  to  use  a  phrase  of  Mr.  Mevin's." 

"  And  I  never  intend  to  be  other  than  the  kindly 
helper  to  any  one,  especially  to  you.  Tell  me!  " 

"  I  am  receiving  a  great  many  letters  from  Aunt 
Luella.  Their  reception  is  preceded  by  an  attack  of 
nausea.  I  was  awakened  last  night  that  way,  and  this 
morning  there  came  a  letter." 

"  It  was  something  you  ate — 

"  I  was  afraid  you  would  say  that!  " 


184  The  House  of  Landell 

"  Then  it  was  nerves.  You  love  her  very  dearly  and 
at  the  same  time  there  has  been  much  in  your  inter 
course  with  her  that  has  tugged  at  your  heart  and 
nerves." 

"  Withal,  there  has  been  true  spiritual  communion." 

"  Emotional !  "  muttered  Tom. 

"  I  will  find  out  what  it  means.  There  are  hands 
reaching  out  to  me,  too, — through  the  walls — I  don't 
see  them ;  but  I  know  they  are  there." 

She  started. 

"  Another  of  those  terrors.  Tom,  look  at  the  clock. 
I  will  ferret  this  out !  What  time  is  it  ?  " 

"  Exactly  one,"  Tom  replaced  his  watch  with  a 
troubled  look. 

"  We  will  stop  calling  these  happenings,  and  mak 
ing  me  feel  as  if  I  were  a  lunatic  or  a  liar.  Watch 
with  me,  to  see  if  any  demand  materializes.  Mate 
rialising!  That  word  and  its  horror  is  far  from  be 
ing  confined  to  seeing  astral  shapes  or  to  the  con 
centration  of  ether,  for  the  moment,  embodying  souls 
of  those  who  have  passed  from  our  sight  through  what 
is  called  death.  To  go  back  to  the  church  matter. 
After  my  attitude  of  Wednesday  night,  Mr.  Herman 
has  every  reason  to  look  for  my  active  cooperation. 
I  never  should  have  gotten  myself  into  a  position  to 
work  with  a  man  who  abhors  and  detests  me." 

"If  you  believe  he  does  that,  why  not  steer  clear 
of  him?" 

"  I  don't  want  the  reputation  of  starter —  " 

"  Then  you  will  gain  the  reputation  of  quitter.  If 
you  cannot  cooperate,  there  is  bound  to  be  a  cataclysm, 
whatever  seems  to  be  the  source.  See  here —  "  with  a 
sudden  turn  to  the  conversation — "  my  rhetoric  queen's 
mother  won't  allow  her  to  write  to  me  any  more.  She 
says  she  can't  permit  her  daughter  to  correspond  with 
strange  men." 


Jhe  House  of  Landell  185 

"  I  never  supposed  she  would." 

"  I  did,  and  I  am  not  going  to  capitulate  to  any  such 
foolishness.  I'll  make  myself  known  to  her  somehow." 

A  far-away  look  came  into  Agnes'  eyes. 

"  Will  you  take  a  book  to  Mrs.  Lavelle,  this  after 
noon  ?  She  leaves  to-morrow  and  it  is  so  disagreeable 
to  have  packages  piling  in  after  one's  trunks  are  closed. 
I  could  send  Judd — but —  " 

"  No  apologies.  I  go  with  pleasure,  and,  on  my  way, 
shall  meditate  on  the  terms  of  our  discipline,  *  First 
the  ideal ;  then  the  possible ;  then  the  actual.'  He  who 
does  not  act  what  he  thinks,  thinks  incompletely  and 
he  who  takes  the  heart  of  his  endeavor  from  what  he 
is  doing  by  sending  his  mind  junketting,  or  by  driving 
it  to  excess,  soon  has  nothing  to  express,"  he  said  to 
himself,  and,  taking  the  volume  Agnes  handed  him,  he 
swung  up  the  street  with  a  sense  of  smug  assurance 
that  he  had  the  key  to  Agnes'  situation. 

He  found  Mrs.  Lavelle  on  the  piazza,  wrapped  in 
rugs,  and  basking  in  the  sunshine  while  looking  over 
a  budget  of  mail.  She  greeted  Tom  by  handing  him 
a  picture. 

"  Do  you  want  to  see  these  photographs  ?  " 

Tom's  heart  gave  a  queer  little  thump  as  a  pair  of 
winsome  eyes  looked  piquantly  up  into  his  from  the 
bit  of  cardboard,  and  seemed  to  read  his  soul. 

"  What  an  alluring  face !  "  he  exclaimed. 

"  That  is  one  of  the  most  bewitching  bird-like  South 
ern  girls  I —  " 

"  I  wish  it  were  Mattee  Sue  Romaine.  It  should  be 
if  it  is  not!" 

"  It  is.  What  do  you  know  about  her  ?  Have  you 
met  her?" 

"  In  my  dreams,  and  I  am  glad  she  looks  as  I  should 
like  to  have  her,"  laughed  Tom,  sincerity  tingeing  his 


1 86  The  House  of  Landell 

jesting  tones.  "  Don't  you  recall  the  rhetoric  incident 
of  the  early  summer?  " 

"  Yes,  now  you  speak  of  it;  but  I  had  not  connected 
it  with  this  dryad  of  a  Southern  city, — dryads  don't 
live  in  cities,  do  they!  Well,  she  is  a  dryad,  anyway, 
wherever  she  may  take  up  her  abode.  You  gave  me 
no  details  that  afternoon  in  the  garden.  You  said 
you  were  going  to,  but  you  were  too  anxious  to  run 
away  by  yourself  to  write  to  her,  I  fancy.  So  it  really 
has  amounted  to  something,  has  it!  Tell  me.  Did 
you  write — and  did  she  reply?  " 

"  I  can  answer  yes  to  both."  Tom  drew  his  chair 
a  trifle  closer.  "  I  need  a  friend  at  court,  and,  as 
I  came  up  here,  I  was  wondering  whom  it  could  pos 
sibly  be.  Now  I  know.  It  may  be  you,  if  you  are 
willing.  Won't  you  let  her  mother  know  that  I  am 
a  fine  fellow?" 

"  Nothing  will  please  me  better,"  with  an  amused 
smile. 

"  I  do  not  mean  that  quite  as  caddishly  as  it  sounds," 
Tom  colored  furiously,  despite  his  maturity.  "  I  am 
very  much  interested  in  this  correspondence,  and,  er-r 
— well,  of  course,  her  mother  considers  it  unconven 
tional,  and, — there  are  signs  of  a  lock-out,  for  me." 

"  I  see."  Mrs.  Lavelle  was  all  sympathy,  "  I  will 
give  you  such  a —  " 

"  Heigh-o,"  and  Grace  Jenkins,  espying  the  two, 
came  towards  them  greatly  to  Tom's  disgust. 

"  I  had  an  idea  you  had  left  us,"  he  responded  to 
her  greeting. 

"  We  are  going  to-morrow.  Later,  we  start  for  the 
South.  You  needn't  hurry  off  so  fast.  I  won't  do  you 
a  bit  of  harm.  Jack  has  the  rheumatism  and  I  am  go 
ing  to  town  on  the  next  train  to  buy  him  some  neck 
ties." 

"A  new  cure   for  rheumatism!     Advertise  it  at 


The  House  of  Landell  187 

once,"  he  laughed,  and,  realizing  that  the  conversa 
tion  would  hold  no  more  charms  for  him,  he  made  his 
adieux. 

"Rheumatism,  pouf!  Drunk  is  what  she  means! 
How  she  ever  threw  over  Horace  Vernon  to  marry 
that  tank,  no  one  can  understand.  See  here,  Tom 
Landell."  He  stood  still  in  the  middle  of  the  road, 
as  if  halted  to  attention.  "  Agnes  sent  you  to  Mrs. 
Lavelle,  the  one  visible  link  between  you  and  that 
seraphic  witch.  What  a  wonder  Agnes  would  be  if 
she  could  only  see  a  little  more  clearly.  Did  I  not  be 
lieve  it  detrimental  to  her  health,  I  would  encourage 
her  more.  Truly,  what  is  eccentricity  in  one  stage  of 
experience  is  natural  to  another,  and  many  states  the 
average  physician  calls  nerves  is  really  the  movement 
of  the  individual  on  a  larger  orbit  of  perception,  ex 
pression,  and,  perhaps,  realization." 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

ff  That  the  human  soul  should  never  be  without 
a  secret  desire  for  absolute  perfection,  bears  wit 
ness  to  the  divine  light  within  us." 

Dr.  F.  W.  Foerster. 

AFTER  Tom  had  disappeared  up  the  street  toward 
Mrs.  Lavelle's,  Agnes  turned  from  the  window  and 
went  to  the  desk  where  lay  her  manuscript.  "  Tom  is 
right,"  she  pondered,  "  I  keep  those  about  me  upset  all 
the  time  because  I  can  hear  what  the  stars  sing  and  can 
not  understand  what  human  beings  say.  I  know  that 
Philip  Herman  abhors  me — I  can  feel  it  through  the 
air — yet,  here  I  am,  tied  up  with  his  work  where  I  face 
him  at  every  turn.  Shall  I  retire  and  be  considered  a 
turncoat — shall  I  never  learn  to  be  helpful,  however 
hard  I  try?" 

The  manuscript  did  not  win  her  attention  and  she 
went,  again,  to  the  window. 

"  I  shall  make  up  my  mind  that,  henceforth,  I  will 
do  the  thing  before  me  with  a  brain  that  seeks  simplic 
ity.  Is  the  intellect  as  great  a  deterrent  as  the  devil 
of  the  old-time  faith  ?  '  The  ways  of  the  mentality 
are  intricate ;  the  ways  of  the  spirit  are  simple.'  Does 
mentality  make  us  see  through  a  glass,  darkly,  instead 
of  face  to  face?  Must  I  ignore  appearances?  No! 
But  I  must  differentiate  surface  appearances,  processes 
and  principle.  The  first  I  must  brush  away,  the  second 
acknowledge,  but  not  rest  in,  and,  in  the  third  I  may 
abide.  I  see  no  other  way,  and  if  these  experiences 

1 88 


The  House  of  Landell  189 

that  come  to  me  are  of  value,  perception  and  discrim 
ination  must  teach  me.  I  seek  the  peace  that  is  above 
all — the  peace  that  passe th  understanding." 

The  room  was  very  still — with  a  stillness  that  was 
unusual.  Into  the  daylight  that  was  softened  by  flit 
ting  clouds  there  came  a  purity  and  luminence  of  at 
mosphere.  As  one  on  a  hilltop  sees  a  landscape  spread 
out,  Agnes  felt  her  vision  extending  beyond  her  apart 
ment.  Felt,  at  first,  for  there  was  but  a  sense  of  en 
trance  into  a  new  country.  All  was  dark — densely 
dark;  but  back  of  the  darkness  was  motion.  Out  of 
the  motion  came  a  voice.  She  listened.  It  was  that 
of  Mr.  Burke.  Following  the  voice,  came  a  shadowy 
shape. 

There  was  no  fear  in  her  heart  as  she  spoke  to  this 
figure  emerging  from  the  gloom,  wondering,  puzzling, 
searching. 

"  I  don't  know  where  I  am  and  I  don't  know  where 
to  go,"  came  the  voice,  with  the  entreaty  of  a  child. 
"  Agnes,  I  have  talked  to  you,  as  to  no  one  else,  about 
immortality  and  the  future  life.  To  no  other  pupil 
have  I  asserted  my  doubts  or  weighed  my  fears.  By 
no  one  have  I  been  so  assured  of  life's  continuity  and 
satisfactoriness,  as  by  you.  Help  me  now,  for  I  don't 
know  where  to  go." 

Agnes'  heart  went  out  to  the  searching  soul  with  a 
great  wave  of  helpfulness. 

"  I  remember  well,  Mr.  Burke,  how  you  helped  me 
in  my  search  and  how  you  so  often  assured  me  that 
I  helped  point  the  way.  But  why  are  you  here  in 
darkness?  Are  you  not  still  in  the  land  of  the  shadow 
which  men  call  life?" 

"  No,  I  have  passed  out,  all  alone.    Where  am  I  ?  " 

"  You  are  to  look  on,  Mr.  Burke,"  she  said  softly. 
"  See,  yonder  is  light.  I  will  stand  here  until  you  reach 
it." 


190  The  House  of  Landell 

The  man  faltered  and  turned  beseechingly  toward 
her. 

"  You  are  in  a  land  of  great  beauty  and  of  love. 
You  will  realize  this  very  soon,"  Agnes  encouraged. 
"  Yonder  are  your  friends ;  yonder  is  help ;  yonder  is 
growth.  Go  on.  /  will  stand  here  until  you  reach  the 
Light." 

Slowly,  the  man  moved  away;  he  turned,  now  and 
anon,  and  waved  her  greeting,  growing  braver  as  he 
passed  out  of  the  dense  darkness  where  her  love  had 
found  him ;  more  reliant,  as  he  went  on  into  the  irradia 
tion  of  the  great  Light  that  sends  out  help  and  life  to 
them  that  walk  therein.  He  turned  and  waved  his 
hand,  Agnes  returned  the  greeting,  saying  still,  with 
her  soul,  "  Go  on!  I  will  stand  here  until  you  reach 
the  Light." 

At  length,  with  a  glad,  strong  movement  of  assur 
ance,  he  gave  another  salute,  and  she  watched  him  enter 
into  the  broader,  stronger  radiance  that  illumined  him 
and  all  the  landscape. 

Standing  there,  giving  the  spirit  of  her  support, 
her  soul  demanding  no  explanation,  seeking  no  solu 
tion,  happy  just  in  the  giving  of  love  and  helpfulness, 
the  scene  was  as  clear  to  her  as  ever,  when  the  maid 
announced  Philip  Herman. 

The  vision  remained.  She  was  about  to  excuse  her 
self  to  the  caller  that  she  might  dwell  longer  in  its 
heavenly  radiance;  but  the  words  sang  through  her 
heart, 

"Had'st  thou  stayed,  I  must  have  fled, 
That  is  what  the  vision  said," 

and  with  one  more  glad  God-speed  to  the  soul  she  had 
helped  upon  its  quest,  she  brought  herself  to  the  library 
with  Philip  Herman  standing  before  her. 


The  House  of  Landell  191 

She  greeted  him  cordially.  His  salutation,  though 
courteous,  was  frigid.  The  halo  of  her  experience 
lent  tenderness  to  her  address  as  she  said, 

"  I  am  sure  you  miss  the  wonderful  ozone  of  Mount 
Nodel,  now  you  are  in  town,  Mr.  Herman.  Are  you 
suffocated  after  the  freedom  of  the  hillside?  " 

"  Yes,  Miss  Landell,  I  am."  His  voice  was  almost 
bereft  of  human  quality,  so  dead  and  tenseless  was  it. 

Laved  in  the  holiness  of  her  experience,  her  soul 
was  released  from  the  strain  of  their  relations  and 
her  manner,  more  than  her  actual  words,  made  this 
evident. 

"  I  do  not  know  whether  to  call  my  visit  here  one  of 
cowardice  or  courage,"  he  continued.  "  I  have  come 
to  tell  you,  that,  with  full  appreciation  of  the  attempts 
of  you  and  your  father  and  others,  to  relieve  the  situa 
tion,  I  have  decided  I  would  prefer  to  cut  wood  in  your 
father's  lumber  camp — if  he  would  entrust  it  to  my 
incompetence — or  to  starve  rather  than  present  state 
ments  I  believe  to  be  false.  I  had  hoped  to  steal 
futilely  down  the  pleasant  by-paths  of  generalities  in 
this  church  position,  but  yesterday,  your  chairman  of 
Wednesday  night's  meeting  called  on  me,  acting  as 
spokesman  for  many,  asking  if  I  intended  to  stand  by 
the  statements  you  made,  and  repudiating  them  as 
savoring  of  church  and  state.  He  said  your  remarks 
were  worthy  of  a  scribe  of  hell  and  pointed  me  down 
the  swamp  lanes  of  man-conceived  superstitions  and 
beliefs  about  the  tortures  exercised  by  God.  The  world 
is  saying  there  are  no  more  such  demands  upon  us  in 
these  days  of  enlightenment.  Let  those  who  think  so 
take  unto  themselves  a  pastorate." 

"  I  know,"  said  Agnes  sadly.  "  Can  you  not  find 
the  relationship  of  seemingly  unrelated  things,  and 
teach  us  the  common  truth  to  be  found  in  differences? 
One  of  the  old  members  of  the  church  received  a  call 


192  The  House  of  Landell 

of  comfort  (  ?)  from  Mr.  Kerrick,  just  before  he  left. 
She  told  him  that  she  was  lonely.  '  Jesus  is  a  very 
busy  person,'  he  replied,  '  He  cannot  stay  with  you 
always,  He  has  to  be  with  me  some  of  the  time.'  Can't 
you,  won't  you  explain  away  this  misconception  and 
comfort  the  seeker  with  the  real  relation  of  the  Christ 
to  the  human  heart?" 

'  To  individuals,  yes ;  but  could  I  teach  that  in  any 
church  you  know?  They  would  call  me  a  Buddhist, 
Pantheist,  Theosophist — and  I  despise  them  all." 

;<  You  seek  wisdom  where  it  may  be  found.  But, 
do  you  know,  I  doubt  if  it  is  ever  revealed  to  us  when 
we  rage.  I  rage,  too,  sometimes,"  with  a  childlike  at 
titude  of  confession. 

"  The  creeds  are  cannibalistic —  " 

"  Undeniably,  that  quality  lies  in  the  expression  and 
interpretation  of  them,  not  in  the  essence  of  their 
meaning." 

"  Only  last  week  a  prominent  preacher  announced 
from  his  pulpit  that  one  of  the  errors  of  the  present 
day  is  the  reading  of  modern  interpretation  into  an 
cient  words." 

"  You  and  I  know  there  is  no  modern  thought  and 
there  are  no  ancient  words.  It  is  consciousness.  Had 
I  the  consciousness  of  Isaiah,  I  should  read  the  uni 
versal  meaning  which  stands  yesterday,  to-day  and 
forever." 

"  Some  of  the  church  methods  do  not  tend  to  train 
men  in  honor  and  integrity  of  daily  living,  and  are 
such  as  no  respectable  business  firm  would  tolerate. 
While  bidding  for  the  overflow  of  the  Spirit,  the  town 
is  placarded,  'Morality  will  not  save!  Reformation 
will  not  save !  A  man  may  reform  and  yet  be  lost! ' 

"  When  I  went  to  school,  children  were  taught  iron 
clad  rules  by  which  to  work  their  problems.  Now, 
children  are  led  to  seek  and  discover  for  themselves 


The  House  of  Landell  193 

the  working  principle  governing  their  studies  and  to 
express  it  individually." 

"  Mind  action  is  so  different  in  every  soul  there  can 
be  no  ironclad  rule  of  conduct." 

"  No,  the  lawyer  seeks  point  by  point,  building  a 
case  as  brick  upon  brick ;  the  musician  sees  in  the  one 
page  before  her  eyes  the  whole  theme,  to  be  expressed 
with  its  thousands  of  shades  of  effect,  through  the  cor 
rect  mental  reception  of  the  many  signs  that  must  be 
utilized  automatically." 

"  I  must  approach  the  synthetic  mind  and  the  ana 
lytic  mind  with  the  same  truth  at  the  same  time,  by  the 
same  path — 

"  Jesus  grew  and  waxed  strong,  you  know.  Place 
your  concept  of  His  life  and  reason  for  being  before 
the  people  and  let  Him  grow  before  their  minds. 
Don't  try,  of  yourself,  to  grow  Him.  Teach  them  to 
watch  His  unfoldment  from  the  man  of  a  generation 
to  the  Christ  of  the  ages.  Therein,  you  can  aid  me 
very  much;  for  though  I  pray  and  seek,  I  cannot  un 
derstand.  God;  the  divinity  of  man;  the  brotherhood 
of  service — these  are  clear  to  me;  but  the  horrible 
travesty  of  love  expressed  in  pain  and  torture — that 
I  can  neither  understand  nor  endure!  " 

She  ceased  speaking.  Her  mobile  face  shone  with 
the  birth  of  a  new  thought.  The  look  of  prophecy 
radiated  from  her,  neglectful  of  his  antagonism,  in 
her  devotion  to  the  idea  the  man  longed  to  express. 

"  Mr.  Herman,  I  pray  you  will  remain  and  speak  to 
these  people  who  are  suffocating  in  the  vaults  of  the 
temple,  Truth,  because  no  fit  guide  has  appeared  to 
lead  them  where  they  can  see  the  daydawn." 

As  Mr.  Herman  descended  the  steps,  two  callers 
came  up  the  driveway.  They  stopped  to  speak  to  the 
departing  guest  while  Agnes,  who  had  accompanied 
him  to  the  door,  awaited  them.  Again  peace  enfolded 


194  The  House  of  Landell 

her,  as  she  stood  with  the  soft  air  playing  about  her. 
Again  her  perception  pierced  the  panorama  of  pleas 
ant  faces  with  the  greensward  for  a  background; 
again,  on  the  wings  of  the  couplet  she  had  sung  to 
herself—  "  Had'st  thou  stayed,  I  must  have  fled,"  great 
vistas  opened  and  the  form  of  her  friend,  silhouetted 
against  the  luminous  white  light,  turned  a  radiant  face 
toward  her. 

With  his  own  voice,  she  recalled  as  so  dear  and  help 
ful,  teaching  her  the  way,  but  now,  wholly  without 
mental  and  physical  effort,  he  spoke  to  her. 

"  Courage  is  the  secret,  dear  friend,  who  walked  with 
me  through  the  shadow  and  into  the  light.  The  cour 
age  and  assurance  of  peace.  Be  not  afraid!  " 

"  Good  morning,  Agnes,"  said  the  taller  of  the  two 
women,  as,  having  left  Mr.  Herman,  they  approached 
the  piazza.  "  My,  but  wasn't  I  glad  of  what  you  said 
at  the  prayer-meeting.  It's  made  a  big.  stir;  but  don't 
you  mind  it.  It  always  takes  stirring  —  " 

"  We  could  hardly  wait  to  talk  it  over  with  you," 
said  Mrs.  Bryce. 

"  I  don't  believe  there  is  another  set  of  people,  be 
sides  Christians,  that  would  dare  to  go  about  in  the 
half-dead-and-alive  fashion  we  do,  as  a  body,  borne 
down  with  physical  depression  and  ailments  and  for 
ever  talking  about  them  as  if  they  were  special  privi 
leges  and  tokens  of  God's  goodness,  instead  of  our 
own  stupidity.  I'm  sick  of  it;  and  as  for  the  beg- 


"  If  this  new  man  drags  my  husband  away  from  his 
business  and  family  the  way  the  other  one  did,  —  I'll  —  " 

"  You  don't  see  much  more  of  him  than  I  do  of  mine 
that's  dead,  do  you,"  declared  Mrs.  Burton. 

"  No,  I  don't.  It  would  do  John  lots  more  good 
to  have  some  healthful  pleasure  with  us  all,  than  to  be 


The  House  of  Landell  195 

mourning  over  some  scheme  of  salvation  he  doesn't 
understand.  It's  so  contrary  to  law  and  justice  and 
mercy  and  all  the  other  qualities  we  are  supposed  to 
have." 

"  We  ought  to  have  a  religion  we  can  put  in  prac 
tice." 

"  So  I  say ;  but  John  thinks  that's  scandalous !  I  tried 
to  talk  to  him  the  other  day  about  eugenics.  He  looked 
blue  and  said  he'd  been  trying  to  be  a  good  Christian 
for  twenty  years.  I  turned  and  looked  at  those  young 
sters  of  ours  coming  up  like  a  pair  of  steps,  and  none 
of  them  with  the  vitality  due  them,  and  I  said,  '  John, 
have  you  ever  spent  one  second  in  understanding  and 
practicing  what  it  means  to  conserve  the  power  of 
the  sons  of  God?'  He  just  seemed  discouraged  and 
had  not  the  least  idea  I  was  doing  anything  other  than 
rinding  fault  with  him.  Can't  the  church  teach  us  any 
of  these  things.  Oughtn't  it!  " 

"  I  wish  we  could  see  our  way  clear,"  sighed  Mrs. 
Burton.  "  What  good  does  it  do  me  to  hurry  through 
my  work,  when  I'm  scared  to  death  half  the  time  for 
fear  I  can't  pay  my  bills,  to  go  to  church  in  hopes  I'll 
find  a  little  comfort,  and  perhaps  a  way  out,  and  find 
the  air  so  bad  I  get  a  sick  headache  and  am  told  that 
I  know  I've  sinned  when  I  don't  know  any  such  thing, 
or  that  I  haven't  done  all  I  could,  when  I  know,  if  I 
have  any  fault  to  blame  myself  for,  it  is  that  I've  done 
too  much !  " 

"  Yes,"  retorted  Mrs.  Bryce  sympathizingly,  "  and 
with  your  butcher  sitting  right  behind  you  watching 
what  you  put  into  the  contribution  box — 

"  And  grudging  it  as  so  much  out  of  the  bill  I'm 
going  to  pay,  on  account.  Then  comes  the  plea  to  re 
member  our  obligations.  If  it's  a  poor  plea,  it's  weari 
some;  if  a  good  one,  it's  terrifying.  What  does  the 
plea  amount  to !  " 


196  The  House  of  Landell 

"  Not  our  obligations  to  be  honest  and  kindly  and 
brave,  but  to  accept  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  or  be  lost — 
whatever  that  may  mean — nothing  more  than  to  make 
a  personal  gain  of  a  mobbing  that  took  place  three 
thousand  years  ago.  The  little  time  I  get,  away  from 
my  cares,  I  want  to  hear  or  read  something  that  will 
help  me,  or  to  get  into  the  open." 

"  That's  where  Jesus  taught,  mostly,  in  the  open. 
What  good  does  it  do  me,  Agnes,  to  hear  that  the  sons 
of  God  took  wives  of  the  daughters  of  men,  then  to 
be  told  there  was  only  one  race  and  that  relatives 
mustn't  marry!  What  I  want  to  know  is  how  to  get 
my  boy  an  honest  job  with  an  honest  man  in  an  honest 
trade  and  make  him  an  honest  citizen." 

"  It's  comforting,  isn't  it,"  said  Mrs.  Bryce  cyn 
ically,  "  to  work  hard  all  the  week  and  really  get  a 
feeling  of  glory  in  it  and  of  closeness  to  the  working 
life  of  God,  and  go  to  church  to  be  told  that  work  is 
a  curse.  The  smart  set  isn't  in  it,  Agnes,  compared 
to  the  pulpit,  for  making  one  feel  ashamed  of  work !  " 

"  I  read  of  a  meeting  the  other  day  for  finding  out 
why  people  don't  go  to  church.  I  could  tell  them ! 
The  teachings  are  not  common  sense.  They  tell  us 
about  a  God  who  disobeys  His  own  laws  as  a  sign  of 
superiority.  If  they  try  to  be  practical  they  tell  us 
things  about  our  every-day  affairs  that  aren't  so.  We 
want  to  be  revitalized  and  recharged  with  the  principle 
of  life  that  we  may  work  it  in  and  out  of  our  own 
experiences." 

"  I  must  go,  now,"  said  Mrs.  Bryce. 

"  So  must  I,"  echoed  Mrs.  Burton.  "  I've  left  Amy 
with  the  baby  too  long." 

"  Mr.  Bryce  will  be  in  to  dinner  and  nothing  I  hear 
from  the  pulpits,  yet,  has  advised  these  cooks  of  ours 
to  do  their  work  decently  and  take  an  honest  pride  in 
worshipping  God  by  service  to  man.  I  for  one  will 


The  House  of  Landell  197 

stand  up,  as  good  an  expression  of  an  individual  as 
I  am  capable  of  being,  to  make  this  revered  institution 
worth  while.  Agnes,  more  than  a  few  of  us  are  thank 
ing  you  for  waking  us  up,  and  don't  you  mind  if  there 
comes  a  row." 

"  Only  the  best  can  happen  if  we  keep  in  mind  that 
the  seat  beside  every  cradle  is  a  pew  in  the  church  uni 
versal,"  returned  Agnes,  and,  as  the  callers  left,  she 
stood,  following  them  with  her  mind,  reaching  out  to 
the  vision  of  her  soul. 

"  Is  it  le  Bon  who  says,  '  All  that  man  calls  nature, 
are  visions  merely;  wonderful  allegories,  significant 
pictures  of  the  laws  of  the  mind;  through  this  en 
chanted  gallery  man  is  led  by  unseen  guides  to  read 
and  learn  the  laws  of  Heaven '  ?  I  wonder  why  Mr. 
Burke  was  so  alone  and  in  darkness.  How  glad  I  am 
that  I  live  larger  than  I  seem,  and  that  I  could  stand 
and  wait  until  he  reached  the  light.  The  vision  came 
when  I  was  in  peace ;  it  returned  because  I  remained  in 
peace  and  it  gave  me  strength  because  it  was  a  useful 
service.  It  will  be  explained  to  me  soon,  I  feel  sure." 

"  How  do  you  do,  Mrs.  Bryce,"  called  a  clear  voice, 
as  the  two  women  reached  the  highroad.  "  I  must 
shake  hands  with  you  after  all  these  years  away.  Is 
anything  going  on  at  the  Landells?  I  have  a  special 
message  for  Agnes,  but  will  wait  if  anything  social 
is  going  on, — or  is  it  that  it  is  a  Mecca  for  the  brain 
and  heart-hungry  as  it  always  has  been  ?  " 

"  Marian  Fosby !  "  greeted  the  two  simultaneously. 
"  No,  nothing  special.  We've  been  up  there,  partly 
to  get  help  for  ourselves  and  partly  to  prepare  Agnes 
for  what's  going  on  as  the  result  of  what  she  said  at 
prayer-meeting  the  other  night.  Did  you  hear  about 
it?" 

"  No.     I've  just  come  home  from  a  four  years'  so- 


198  The  House  of  Landell 

journ,  first  of  travel,  and  later,  of  teaching.  What 
is  it?" 

"  The  town  is  full  of  it.  Some  one  heard  her  say 
to  her  father,  after  it  was  over,  that  she  had  stayed 
where  she  had  to  help,  but  that  now  she  felt  authorized 
to  go  on,  whether  the  others  did  or  not.  If  she  believes 
what  she  stated,  I  wonder  how  she  has  stood  with  us 
as  tolerantly  and  as  sweetly  as  she  has." 

"Does  she  look  as  she  used  to?"  There  was  a 
happy  light  in  Marian's  face.  "  I  well  remember  her. 
She  was  my  salvation,  in  those  old  days.  I  have 
come,  now,  to  bring  her  tidings  of  the  death  of  a  dear 
friend  and  one-time  teacher.  It  will  make  her  sad  to 
hear  of  his  passing." 

"  Is  it  any  one  we  know  ?  "  inquired  Mrs.  Burton. 

"  I  think  so,  for  the  whole  town  loved  him.  It  is 
Mr.  Burke.  He  Was  especially  identified  with  phil 
osophy  and  Agnes  was  his  ardent  pupil.  After  a  long 
illness,  in  a  mental  aberration  he  assisted  himself  to 
cross  to  the  other  side — to-day  at  one  o'clock, —  "  and 
Marian  passed  on. 

"  My  dear  friend  who  taught  me  to  love  the  sky," 
she  said  affectionately  to  Agnes,  "  I  am  so  proud  of 
you  that  you  have  waked  this  old  town  up,  even  if  it 
is  to  disagree  with  you.  Anything  is  better  than  in 
ertia.  You  have  been  a  blessing  to  every  one  all  the 
days  of  your  life." 

"  I  wish  I  could  think  so,"  said  Agnes,  overwhelmed. 
"  And  why  do  you  give  me  that  beautiful  name?  " 

"  It  is  one  of  your  benedictions  from  schoolhood 
days.  Another  happy  memory  comes  to  me  as  I  sit 
talking  with  you.  Do  you  recall  the  day  you  helped 
John  McBarr  cut  off  one  of  my  curls,  when  we  were 
skating?  I  never  knew  who  did  it  until  the  other  day, 
when  he  put  this  ring  on  my  finger  and  showed  me  the 


The  House  of  Landell  199 

trophy.    The  wedding  is  to  be  in  the  spring.    I  am  so 
very  happy,  Agnes." 

Just  then,  the  clear-toned  bells  in  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  steeple  rang  out,  stroke,  stroke,  stroke, — pause ; 
stroke,  stroke,  stroke, — pause ;  stroke,  stroke,  stroke,— 
pause. 

Agnes'  face  became  raptly  intent. 

"  That  is  a  beautiful  message  they  ring  into  the 
hearts  of  men,  morning,  noon  and  night,  when  they 
herald,  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  said  Marian  thoughtfully,  "  if  only  the  idea 
were  not  a  travesty  on  common  sense." 

"  It  used  to  seem  that  to  me !  It  does  not  now,  and 
I  learned  the  meaning  through  those  very  bells." 

"  Tell  me,  dear,  it  all  seems  so  dark  when  I  try  to 
read  the  riddles  of  dogma,"  and  Marian  sighed. 

"  Let  dogma  alone  and  seek  with  the  simplicity  of 
the  child.  Those  bells  were  a  tribute  of  love,  given  to 
the  church  by  the  Hoyles  in  memory  of  their  father. 
At  a  time  when  I  felt  just  as  you  do,  I  fell  to  listening, 
listlessly,  without  assent  or  dissent  to  the  sweetness 
of  their  tones.  Always  I  found  myself  refreshed. 
Then  there  stole  into  my  heart  the  recognition  of  the 
love  that  had  impelled  creative  faculty  to  take  crude 
substance  and  transmit  its  essence  to  the  world  in 
sound,  to  rest  and  admonish,  to  send  its  message 
through  the  unseen  to  live  again  in  expression." 

"You  darling!  How  beautiful!  The  analogy  is 
complete !  " 

"  Yes,  Marian,  it  is  to  me.  God,  the  Father,  ex 
presses  the  creative  principle ;  God,  the  Holy  Spirit,  ex 
presses,  in  the  love  which  gives  propelling  power  to 
creation;  God,  the  Son,  the  manifest  expression,  with 
the  Trinity  inherent  therein,  sounding,  living  through 
the  ages.  We  cannot  get  away  from  Unity,  Marian, 
because  it  is  the  foundation  of  the  universe —  " 


2OO  The  House  of  Landell 

"  Nor  from  the  Trinity,  because  it  is  the  logical  se 
quence  of  demonstration!  How  wonderful  it  all  is!" 

"  And  simple." 

After  Marian  had  left  her,  Agnes  went  back  to  her 
manuscript.  She  took  up  one  of  the  pages  and  scanned 
it  closely. 

"  '  Evolution  is  the  resultant  of  the  development, 
through  man,  of  God's  divine  image,'  "  she  quoted 
slowly  to  herself.  "  Perhaps,  after  all,  I  am  expressing 
more  of  God  than  I  have  dreamed." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

"See  that  through  thee,  the  race  progresses,  not 
continues,  only." 

Ellen  Key. 

WEDNESDAY  evening's  service  opened  amidst  sup 
pressed  excitement.  The  events  of  the  preceding  week 
had  awakened  the  minds  of  all  to  divers  issues.  At 
Philip's  request  the  building  had  been  subjected  to  a 
thorough  cleaning  and  ventilation.  Every  day  he  had 
spent  hours,  not  in  the  study  writing  sermons,  but  in 
the  body  of  the  house  trying  to  hold  steadily  in  his 
heart  the  thought  of  peace  on  earth,  good  will  to  men. 
It  was  no  vacuous  reverie  into  which  he  entered.  This 
was  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  had  done  other  than 
cry  out  to  a  Lord  "  of  corporeal  content "  as  to  a 
hierarch  in  a  distant  land,  straining  mind  and  body  in 
supplication.  His  own  growing  consciousness;  his 
mother ;  Agnes ;  all  had  set  his  steps  forward.  Still  he 
felt  like  a  drowsing  child,  who,  stupid  with  slumber, 
takes  his  companion's  hand  and  stumbles  on,  resenting 
the  kindly  insistence  that  refuses  to  allow  him  to  rest 
in  his  stuporous  condition  on  some  snow-clad  roadside 
or  serpent-infested  bosk. 

As  he  stood  this  evening  before  the  hardy  world- 
worn  faces,  Agnes  felt  a  great  rush  of  pity  overwhelm 
her.  With  her  seeing  eyes,  she  watched  him  standing, 
as  one  helpless,  in  a  sea  of  electric  sparks,  while  hover 
ing  just  beyond  the  circle  of  this  mentality  shone  the 
faint  white  light  of  his  divinity,  prevailing  against 
this  force  of  will  expressing  him.  She  held  her  breath, 
as  he  rose,  and  with  the  generally  impassive  faces 

20 1 


2O2  The  House  of  Landell 

looking  with  unaiding  critical  eyes  up  to,  rather  than 
into  his,  he  faced  the  bare  square  room  with  its  glaring 
lights  giving  even  deeper  pallor  to  his  face. 

"  Like  Niobe,  turning  to  stone,"  she  thought,  as 
the  grayness  of  immobility  settled  over  his  hitherto 
mobile  face. 

"  Friends,"  every  nerve  quivered  at  his  anom 
alous  position,  as  well  as  with  the  force  of  his  mes 
sage,  "  before  I  perform  one  rite  as  leader  in  your 
communion,  I  wish  to  talk  with  you.  There  are  tre 
mendous  truths  in  the  accepted  Orthodox  Christianity, 
but  these  are  to  be  seen  by  minds  awake  to  their  spirit 
ual  meaning,  and  not  to  be  accepted  as  one  accepts  a 
phantasy  of  recognized  but  distorted  knowledge  in  a 
dream. 

"  The  religion  of  the  future  is  to  rise  above  the  ani 
mal,  magical,  emotional,  and  technical  tendencies  of 
the  past,  and  be  more  intelligently  and  divinely  hu 
man.  It  will  depend  less  on  symbol — more  on  spirit 
and  on  truth.  No  longer  can  morality  be  ignored 
as  a  landing-place  in  the  climb  towards  the  pure  moral 
spirituality  of  the  Christ.  Love  interweaves  us  with 
externalities  but  makes  us  less  dependent  upon  them, 
for  it  teaches  that  the  essence  of  all  externals  is  within. 
It  is  the  church's  mission  to  bring  into  our  lives  moral 
purity  and  spiritual  vision.  The  more  active  the  prin 
ciple  of  unity,  the  more  knit  our  society  and  the  more 
apparent  the  inherent  unity  of  the  universe.  New 
conceptions  of  truth  meet  our  growing  needs.  When 
the  mind  conceives  new  conditions  and  the  heart  ac 
cepts  them,  humanity  cannot  fail  to  advance  in  ever- 
improving  states." 

He  turned  toward  the  speaker's  chair,  then  abruptly 
moved  toward  the  rows  of  settees,  where  he  took  his 
seat. 

At  Agnes'  request,  Mr.  Landell  had  gone  to  the 


The  House  of  Landell  203 

meeting,  and,  as  he  sat  beside  his  daughter,  he  watched 
the  effect  of  Herman's  words.  The  countenances  of 
some  of  the  listeners  were  sullen  with  antagonism ;  of 
others,  alert  with  appreciation.  Fathers,  mothers,  men 
of  affairs,  sat  with  hope  illumining  their  eyes.  "  '  These 
belong  to  the  church  whose  altar  is  within,  and  whose 
bread  of  life  is  more  than  a  church  building  or  a 
creed,'  "  he  quoted  to  himself.  Then  his  eyes  turned 
slowly  until  they  rested  on  the  head  of  the  third  settee 
from  the  front,  in  the  middle  aisle.  Yes,  there  he  was, 
Deacon  Lambert,  just  where  he  had  sat  thirty  years 
ago,  on  a  Wednesday  night,  when  his  dictum  had  set 
the  real  Daniel  Landell  free  by  denying  his  communion 
in  this  church  institution  which  had  made  its  head  a 
God  of  vengeance,  whom,  to  call  Father,  was  a  crime. 

The  deacon's  hair  had  grown  white,  his  figure  bent 
under  the  thirty  years.  Now,  as  of  yore,  pulling  him 
self  up  with  the  assistance  of  the  pew  in  front,  he  came 
slowly  to  his  feet. 

"  I  don't  need  time  to  consider  the  heresies  you  have 
uttered,  Mr.  Herman,  nor  the  blasphemies  for  which 
you  will  be  accountable  to  Almighty  God;  but  I  will 
state  that  the  land  on  which  this  church  is  built  was 
given  us  by  my  father,  that  we  might  hear  Christ  cruci 
fied,  not  torn  asunder  and  scattered  in  humanity.  We 
must  preach  condemnation  for  those  set  aside  by  God's 
gracious  choice,  like  chaff  for  the  burning,  and  reward 
to  the  elect.  We  want  some  one  to  teach  us  how  to  die 
and  not  be  lured  by  fantastic  lessons  on  the  glories  of 
living.  If  such  blasphemy  prevails,  I  shall  place  a  case 
in  the  courts  to  withdraw  the  land  from  the  church 
holdings." 

The  grayness  of  Philip's  face  became  as  granite. 
The  mobility  of  his  expression  was  quenched.  Life 
seemed  drawn  therefrom,  as,  like  a  rock,  he  stood  be 
fore  them. 


2O4  The  House  of  Landell 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  create  a  schism.  I  will  with 
draw —  " 

"  You  have  created  it  already  by  your  words, — 
devil's  spawn  that  they  be !  Brothers  and  sisters,  look 
back  to  the  time  when,  in  travail  of  soul,  you  bowed 
before  Almighty  God,  helpless  and  vile,  with  no  grace 
in  you,  and  plead  for  mercy,  knowing  that,  if  not  of 
His  elect,  He  would  turn  you  into  outer  darkness,  de 
spite  your  pleas.  If  you  have  changed  one  jot  or  tittle 
from  that  despair  and  faith  of  those  early  years,  as 
Jesus  says,  turn  ye,  turn  ye,  why  will  ye  die !  " 

"  Because  it  appears,  we  can't  help  ourselves !  "  said 
Mrs.  Bryce,  ever  bold.  "  Deacon  Lambert,  I  don't  be 
lieve  Christ  ever  said  that.  It  was  some  dyspeptic  old 
somebody.  Maybe  you've  got  it  mixed  with  the 
devil's  saying.  People  do,  sometimes,  you  know.  You 
gave  us  a  long  talk  here  one  night  on  a  text  that 
sounded  so  different  from  what  I  could  believe  God 
would  say,  that  I  looked  it  up.  You  had  the  devil 
instead  of  the  dear  Lord !  " 

"  It  was  the  Bible,  and  every  word  of  the  Bible  is 
to  be  followed." 

"  I  do  not  come  to  breed  dissension,"  came  Philip's 
voice.  The  iron  had  entered  his  tones,  by  now,  and 
they  rang  with  a  metallic  clang. 

"  Your  seed  is  sown !  "  Mr.  McBarr  rose  from  his 
seat — "  the  seed  of  sedition  against  your  Maker.  How 
dare  you  claim  Him  as  your  Father !  " 

"If  God  made  us,  Brother  McBarr,"  said  Mrs. 
Bryce,  "  it  seems  to  me  it  gives  him  clear  title  to  us,  and 
if  He  made  the  world  and  all  that  is  in  it,  I'd  like  to 
ask  whom  He  adopted  us  from !  " 

"  The  devil !  "  Mr.  McBarr's  tones  precluded  fur 
ther  questions  even  from  the  brave  Mrs.  Bryce. 

"  I  have  grieved  over  many  signs  of  dereliction," 
monotoned  Mr.  McBarr,  "  I  have  looked  long  for  the 


The  House  of  Landell  205 

eruption  of  heresy  to  boil  out  its  venom!  The  un 
heard-of  proceedings  of  last  Wednesday  night  warned 
us  that  the  lava  of  hell  was  overflowing  the  fair  city 
of  our  God.  I  have  prayed  all  the  week  that  I  might 
be  able  to  smite  the  cloven  hoof  before  it  imprinted 
its  mark  upon  us  as  a  church,  however  it  might  have 
stamped  itself  upon  some  of  its  members.  Christ  has 
wiped  the  slate  clean  for  me!  I  leave  you  in  the  evil 
He  has  prepared  for  your  undoing.  I  withdraw  from 
this  body  till  the  gangrene  has  been  cut  away." 

He  took  his  hat  and  walked  heavily  from  the  room. 
Timidly,  his  wife  followed  him.  His  son  moved  a 
little  closer  to  Marian  Fosby,  who  sat  beside  him,  and 
settled  himself  more  definitely  into  his  seat. 

"  I  restate  that  these  things  cannot  be  done  in  this 
church.  It  is  dangerous  to  measure  out  any  value  to 
ourselves,"  said  Deacon  Lambert. 

"  Except  as  it  proves  our  oneness  with  the  Father," 
interrupted  Philip. 

"  Moral  power  is  a  snare — a  theft  from  God  in 
whom  all  power  lies — a  blasphemy ! "  continued 
Deacon  Lambert.  "  This  house  is  for  worship,  not  for 
teaching.  We  want  Christians,  not  citizens!  Moral 
ity!  It  is  the  damnation  of  the  seeker  after  heaven! 
Unless,  at  once,  this  infernalism  is  stamped  out,  I  lay 
claim  to  this  land,  to-morrow!  " 

"  I  do  more  than  that."  Mr.  Frisby,  old  and  quiver 
ing,  struggled  to  his  feet.  "  Henceforth,  this  place 
will  be  a  cesspool  of  sedition.  When  my  father  took 
those  titles,  he  received  them,  not  as  a  church  official, 
but  as  an  individual,  as  the  deeds  will  show,  and 
whereas  Deacon  Lambert  makes  proviso,  I  make  none, 
but  claim  the  land,  to-night,  as  my  father's  heir." 

Consternation  flashed  into  the  faces  of  the  mature 
members  of  the  congregation.  The  eyes  of  the  young 


206  The  House  of  Landell 

were  alert  for  battle.  Then  Mr.  Landell  rose,  and 
the  surrounding  spaces  grew  clear  and  sweet. 

"  You  all  know  me,"  he  said  simply  with  tenderness 
in  his  mellow  voice.  "  Some  of  you  may  wonder  why 
I  am  here  and  why  I  speak  to  you  at  this  crucial  mo 
ment!  It  is  because  I  love  you!  Some  of  you  will 
recall  when  I  stood  before  your  tribunal  thirty  years 
ago  and  was  excommunicated  by  you  because  I  loved 
my  Father  instead  of  fearing  God.  It  has  made  me 
love  you  the  more,  for  through  your  strict  adherence 
to  what  you  believed  to  be  your  duty,  you  freed  a  soul. 
As  with  Adam  and  Cain,  your  outer  darkness  proved 
to  be  my  land  of  enlightenment.  Your  action  liberated 
me  from  boundaries  to  which,  until  now,  I  might  have 
limited  myself  had  you  been  more  lenient  in  what  you 
considered  your  God-given  privilege.  I  had  considered 
that  worship  of  God  and  of  the  church  institution  were 
one  and  the  same.  Denied  the  church,  I  found  God  in 
me.  I  began  to  learn,  like  Philips  Brooks,  that  '  it  is 
not  the  most  active  people  that  we  meet,  not  the  busiest, 
that  rush  about,  meteor-like,  after  visible  chance  to 
work.  It  is  lives  like  the  stars,  which  simply  pour  down 
on  us  the  calm  light  of  their  bright  being,  to  which 
we  look  up,  and  out  of  which  we  gather  the  deepest 
calm  and  courage.'  I  learned  another  truth  presented 
to  the  disciple, — that  not  to  do  has  its  place  as  well  as 
doing. 

"  In  after  years,  I  erected  a  building  I  offered  to 
share  with  any  who  wished  to  join  with  me  in  worship, 
without  restraint  of  creed.  No  one  came.  As  time 
went  on,  I  found  a  religious  body  in  a  near-by  city, 
with  whom  I  affiliated;  but  always  I  have  held  that 
little  temple  sacred.  There  I  have  had  my  visions; 
there  my  faith  kept  strong.  Before  entering,  I  cleansed 
my  heart  of  rancor;  if  I  could  not  I  would  not  go 
in.  Many  have  wondered.  It  has  been  in  response 


The  House  of  Landell  207 

to  a  dictate  that  sometime  it  would  prove  a  haven 
for  souls  in  need.  Has  the  time  come?  Not  in 
rancor,  but  in  obedience  to  law?  For  it  is  law, 
you  know,  that  when  a  unit  has  grown  to  an  inherent 
realization  of  growth,  or  expansion,  it  divides.  So  it 
presents  a  dual  aspect  and  out  of  that  dual  aspect  of 
one,  there  comes  a  third — an  objectified  expression — 

"  The  Trinity,"  whispered  Marian  joyously  to 
Agnes,  who  sat  near  her — 

"  It  is  not  a  divorcement  or  quarrel,  but  an  expan 
sion  of  our  idea  of  unity  that  shows  still  other  aspects 
of  our  work  within  these  walls.  I  offer  to  you  this 
building,  that,  in  cooperation  with  this  dear  old  com 
munion,  new  aspirations  may  induce  new  activities." 

There  was  stillness  of  tremendous  import.  Slowly 
the  tension  of  antagonism  relaxed.  Then  there  was 
a  little  rustle  like  the  stirring  of  leaves.  The  rustle 
became  a  pronounced  movement,  and  a  deep  wave  of 
relief  lifted  the  congregation  on  the  shoulders  of  ac 
tion. 

"  Mr.  Landell,"  said  Philip,  a  tremor  of  life  quiver 
ing  through  the  stone  of  his  exterior,  and  warming  it 
into  human  tenderness,  "  couldn't  we  walk  up  there, 
now,  with  you,  and  see  how  we  can  combine  an  exten 
sion  of  work  with  these  interests  here?  " 

"  I  shall  be  glad  to  take  you  there,"  responded  Mr. 
Landell,  "  though,  possibly,  not  to  enter  until  the 
Gennesaret  of  our  troubled  minds  has  been  quieted  by 
the  Christ  of  the  Spirit." 

"  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  members  who  feel  they 
have  liens  on  this  property  will  decide  to  retain  its 
activities  in  the  worship  of  God  by  service  to  man," 
said  Philip,  and  the  humanity  retired,  as  he  spoke,  be 
hind  the  stone  of  his  expression.  "  Being  is  the  most 
propelling  power  there  is, — the  only  sort  lasting  and 
worthy  of  the  name.  The  man  who  is,  is  a  centre  of 


208  The  House  of  Landell 

power.  It  does  not  become  personal  will  to  enforce  its 
own  demands  and  decisions;  its  very  stillness  is  the 
power  that  gives  conduit  to  divine  Energy.  Let  us 
go,  together,  to  see  what  can  be  done,  to  advance  here 
and  there  the  expression  of  that  power." 

He  moved  from  his  seat.  Agnes  and  her  father  fol 
lowed  him.  Mrs.  Herman  joined  them.  There  was 
a  moment  of  hesitation  and  Mrs.  Burton  and  Mrs. 
Bryce  were  added  to  the  little  company.  Marian  Fosby 
and  John  McBarr,  side  by  side,  moved  with  them. 
One  after  another  they  arose — men  and  women  whose 
experiences  had  made  them  live.  They  passed  out — 
and  a  great  stillness  fell  upon  the  place. 

Then  rose  the  sound  of  weeping.  The  men  who  had 
precipitated  the  movement  sat  looking  at  each  other 
furtively,  their  faces  filled  with  mingled  shame  and 
greed.  Noble-hearted  men,  strong  and  godly  in  their 
faith,  according  to  their  lights,  sat  stunned  as  with 
horror  at  a  great  calamity;  women,  with  pure  and 
tender  hearts,  sat  with  heads  bowed,  expressive  of 
the  sorrow  and  resignation  that  constant  contempla 
tion  of  a  suffering  Jesus,  whether  before  an  image  of 
the  mind  or  of  marble,  gives  the  sincere  believer  who 
has  not  learned  to  contemplate  sorrow  apart  from  the 
personal,  or  to  see  in  it  a  pathway  to  the  stars.  Their 
acceptance  of  tradition  and  of  doctrines,  about  which 
they  had  declared  and  exhorted,  but  never  truly 
thought,  made  them  fear  change  as  a  form  of  blas 
phemy  of  that  they  revered,  and  held  them  pinioned 
in  their  seats. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

"  *  *  *  a  Hand  like  this  hand 
Shall  throw  open  the  gates  of  new  life  to  thee! 
See  the  Christ  stand!  " 

Robert  Browning. 

SILENTLY  the  little  group  wended  its  way  through 
the  brilliant  night.  The  hoar  frost  glistened  in  the  air 
and  everything  was  very  still.  At  the  end  of  a  long 
and  gentle  incline,  lights  twinkled  from  a  small  but 
perfectly  proportioned  temple  on  the  summit.  Philip 
thought  of  the  Acropolis,  the  crown  of  Athens,  and 
the  temples  of  wisdom,  set,  as  was  this  temple,  over 
looking  a  city  of  deeds.  He  felt  as  if  he  were  one  of 
the  ancient  Greeks,  making  procession  for  worship, 
then  he  looked  about  him  at  the  stern  and  sturdy  New 
England  faces  and  the  vision  vanished.  He  wondered 
what  were  the  emotions  predominant  in  the  hearts  and 
minds  of  these  pilgrims  of  centuries  later,  on  the  same 
pilgrimage  for  truth.  As  for  himself,  he  knew  well 
that  he  was  in  a  turmoil. 

"I,  to  enter  there,  with  heart  free  from  rancor  and 
hate !  Better  have  remained  where  I  was,"  he  thought 
in  the  gloom  of  his  tempestuous  mind.  '  There,  at 
least,  under  cover  of  hurling  the  denunciations  of  Je 
hovah,  I  could  have  voiced  my  own  heart's  bitterness. 
I  could  act  as  mouthpiece  of  this  God  they  understand 
and  expect  me  to  interpret  after  the  fashion  of  their 
own  methods  of  thinking  and  not  belie  my  own  self. 
I  will  not  enter!  I  will  not  purge  my  heart  of  anger 
toward  those  who  pauperized  me  or  those  who  saved 
my  life." 

209 


2io  The  House  of  Landell 

At  the  doorway  of  the  building,  Mr.  Landell  paused 
and  faced  the  group. 

"  Let  us  not  go  in.  We  will  meet  after  we  have 
found  ourselves  within  ourselves.  Amen." 

The  little  company  dispersed.  Morosely,  Philip  ac 
companied  his  mother  to  the  parsonage,  and  left  her 
without  a  word.  Plunging  down  the  road,  he  walked 
for  hours  beneath  the  stars. 

"  What  business  has  that  woman  to  meddle  with  my 
life?  "  he  raged  aloud.  "  What  right  to  summon  me 
from  that  bourne  on  which  I  was  entering,  when 
dragged  back  to  life  and  its  trumped-up  responsibil 
ities!' 

"  Is  there  no  free  will  at  any  point  of  one's  career," 
he  cried,  "  that  one  comes  to  earth  at  beck  and  call ; 
is  sent  forth  or  held  here,  to  endure  the  agonies  of 
hell  on  earth,  at  beck  and  call  ?  " 

He  remembered  the  tale  of  Lazarus  after  his  resur 
rection, — a  thing  for  loathing  to  all  who  had  not  been 
dead  but  were  yet  alive.  He  felt  as  that  man  must  have 
felt — with  swollen  body,  and  empty  eyeballs  unveiled 
to  view.  He  wanted  to  die,  and  could  have,  but  for 
Agnes  Landell  with  eyes  that  one  moment  were  like 
forget-me-nots  and  the  next  ablaze  with  intuition. 
Why  had  she  not  let  him  alone!  He  writhed  as  he 
imagined  a  grasp  upon  his  arm. 

"  I  resent  your  interference,"  he  shouted  into  the 
forest  as  he  walked.  "If  God  wills  to  move  me  about 
as  a  puppet,  so  be  it ;  but  a  woman  shall  not !  I  thank 
no  one  who  has  had  a  part  in  my  amusing  comedy  of 
errors." 

For  hours  he  tramped  across  country,  but  the  storm 
of  his  heart  did  not  abate.  His  demand  for  new  con 
ditions;  their  sudden  acquisition;  the  humiliating  rec 
ognition  that  he  was  not  clean  enough  in  heart  to 
receive  them  when  presented ;  the  realization  that,  after 


The  House  of  Landell  211 

atf,  he  did  not  wish  to  change  his  heart;  that  he  desired 
to  \iate  and  trample  under  foot  those  who  had  helped 
as  well  as  those  who  had  injured;  determined  to  be  at 
war  vith  the  world; — this  revelation  overwhelmed 
him.  The  doctrine  of  love!  It  was  too  tame !  From 
the  files  of  memory  he  brought  forth  denunciations  of 
the  Hebrew  prophets.  They  came  fast,  and  he  shouted 
them  into  the  silent  night.  In  the  early  dawn,  he  re 
turned.  There  was  a  light  in  the  study  and  his  mother 
was  moving  about. 

"  I  hope  you  have  not  been  sitting  up  for  me.  I 
am  no  longer  a  child,  you  know,"  he  said,  as  insolently 
as  his  inherent  fineness  of  nature  permitted. 

"  I  have  been  collecting  our  possessions  for  a  pos 
sible  removal,  to-morrow,  to  the  lodge,"  his  mother 
replied,  with  a  calmness  that  held  him  shamed  but  not 
repentant,  in  his  childish  mood.  "  You  realize,  I  sup 
pose,  that  after  the  experiences  of  last  evening  it  may 
be  expected  of  us,"  and  tranquilly  she  went  on,  gather 
ing  the  few  articles  they  had  brought  from  Mount 
Nodel. 

Philip  went  up-stairs.  He  did  not  go  to  break 
fast;  but  in  the  late  forenoon,  left  the  house  with 
out  a  word. 

Mrs.  Herman  saw  him  take  the  turn  towards  the 
Landells.  Her  mother  heart  went  out  to  him.  It  was 
wonderful  how  this  woman  bore  herself.  Her  attitude 
was  not  one  of  resignation  nor  of  passivity.  It  was 
of  supreme  trust  and  calm. 

As  she  moved  from  the  window,  she  said,  just  above 
her  breath, 

"'How   wondrous   is   God's   power, — who  but   knows   it?— 
And  yet,  a   single  human  heart  can  perfectly   enclose   it.' " 

Philip  met  Agnes  and  her  father  starting  for  a  walk. 
They  asked  him  to  join  them,  and  the  three  turned 


212  The  House  of  Landell 

toward  the  park.  At  his  best,  Philip  was  not  much  of 
a  pedestrian,  and  this  morning  found  his  respiration 
more  disturbed  by  his  internal  dissensions  than  he  could 
have  believed  possible.  He  stumbled,  and  lost  step 
constantly.  After  one  or  two  attempts  to  pour  out  his 
heart — resulting,  each  time,  in  the  discovery  that  his 
powers  of  expression  were  beyond  control — he  became 
silent.  As,  slowly,  he  recovered  his  breath  his  poise 
returned.  He  began  to  respond  to  the  exhilarating 
air,  and  there  stole  into  his  senses  the  knowledge  that 
the  fragrant  hemlocks,  the  beeches  and  the  pines  were 
voicing,  in  their  own  language,  their  unity  with  life. 

The  morning  had  grown  to  midday.  Through  the 
resilient  air,  there  pealed  the  noontide  bells,  with  their 
message. 

Agnes  and  her  father  stood  silent  in  the  grove, 
heads  uplifted,  with  an  intentness  of  aspiration  that 
radiated  from  them.  Then,  as  the  joyous  clangor 
mounted  upon  the  wings  of  its  triune  declaration,  the 
two  swung  into  the  rhythm  of  their  step  again,  and, 
in  a  silence  teeming  with  intelligent  recognition  of  life, 
a  three-mile  walk  was  accomplished. 

"  Come  in,"  said  Mr.  Landell,  hospitably,  as  they 
approached  the  house. 

Despite  the  passion  in  his  heart,  Philip  had  felt  the 
Presence.  He  looked  earnestly  at  the  speaker. 

"  I  thank  you,  not  now.  I'll  wait  and  think  again 
before  I  tell  you  what  I  came  to  say." 

The  aroma  of  a  New  England  autumn  was  in  the  air. 
A  copper  sheen  lay  on  the  waters.  The  oaks  were  in 
carnadined  in  the  sunshine ;  and  the  scarlet  and  yellow 
of  maple  and  of  ash  flashed  royally  in  the  light.  The 
incense  of  balsam  and  of  fir  rode  upon  the  winds. 
Trailing  across  the  sky,  a  zigzag  line  of  flying  geese 


The  House  of  Landell  213 

made  a  thread  of  dazzling  white,  vanishing  into  the 
mackerel  sky  to  the  south. 

About  twelve,  nearly  all  who  had  left  the  Wednes 
day  evening  service  with  Mr.  Landell  gathered  at  the 
entrance  of  the  chapel  on  the  hill.  A  few  of  them, 
alarmed  at  their  temerity,  had  already  deserted  the 
new  movement,  and  others,  through  conviction,  had 
joined  it.  There  was  about  the  gathering  an  atmos 
phere  of  assured  purpose,  whose  very  intensity  pre 
cluded  neighborly  interchange. 

On  the  hour,  Mr.  Landell  inserted  a  tiny  key  in  the 
lock  of  the  outer  door. 

"  In  old  Salem,  there  is  a  little  church,  with  a  key 
of  incongruous  size,  inserted  upside  down  and  turn 
ing,  as  it  might  seem  to  us,  the  wrong  way.  Like  the 
theology  of  the  early  settlers,  its  laborious  action 
opened  the  doors  for  men  who  sought  truth.  Soon 
we  shall  learn  that  there  is  no  lock  nor  key  on  truth 
except  the  eternal  processes  of  Spirit,  which  shut  no 
one  out;  but  open  to  each  individual  the  many  man 
sions  of  unfolding  understanding.  May  we  use  this 
key  I  hold  to  include  all,  as  faithfully  as  our  forebears 
used  theirs  to  include  the  few." 

As  he  concluded  these  simple  words,  he  opened  the 
doors. 

The  company  found  themselves  in  a  vestibule  with 
domed  ceiling.  Three  low  broad  marble  steps,  then 
a  landing,  and  several  more  steps  led  to  doors  of 
bronze.  As  these  swung  back,  each  individual,  feeling 
the  purport  of  the  room,  went  silently  to  the  com 
fortable  seats. 

In  the  unusualness  of  the  procedure  no  one  noticed 
that  Philip  Herman  had  not  entered  with  them.  A 
moment  of  silence,  and  the  company  passed  into  a 
chapel  beyond,  to  which  Philip  had  found  his  way 
through  a  rear  door.  After  reading  from  the  Bible 


214  The  House  of  Landell 

with  an  interpretation  so  beautiful  that  each  passage 
seemed  a  special  message,  hitherto  unheard,  he 
prayed, — 

"  Lord  of  Life, — We  see  of  Thee  only  what  we  are. 
We  choose  to  grow,  daily,  that  finally  we  may  see  Thee 
as  Thou  art.  Amen."  « 

Then  he  spoke. 

"  A  great  physician  gives  us  the  statement,  proven 
true — that  changing,  conscious  thoughts  change  the 
action  of  the  lungs,  the  heart,  the  stomach,  the  liver, 
with  lightning  rapidity.  '  A  warm,  sympathetic 
thought,  from  friend  or  foe,  at  once  begins  to  trans 
form  the  watery  acid  humors  of  the  blood  to  red 
globules  rich,  not  only  with  albumen  and  iron,  but  with 
the  sweetness  and  strength  of  a  better  character.' 

"  With  this  principle  in  mind,  may  everything  we 
do  this  week  be  enfibred  with  it,  and  the  next  week 
shall  find  us  more  accurate  manifestations  of  Spirit, 
because  our  acknowledgment  of  our  oneness  in  God, 
unifies  our  purpose  as  neighbors  and  as  lovers  of  men. 
Without  speaking,  will  you  follow  me  ?  " 

He  led  them  into  the  sunshine  of  the  autumn  day, 
and,  pointing  to  the  landscape, — 

"  Not  only  toward  mankind  shall  this  unity  be  ex 
tended;  this  week,  we  will  lift  our  eyes  unto  the  hills, 
whence  cometh  our  help.  In  this  noontide  sky  with 
its  changing  clouds,  we  shall  hear  God  give  His  mes 
sage  of  His  eternal  purpose  through  the  varied  phases 
of  expression.  In  this  mellow  atmosphere,  softening 
the  blaring  blue  of  the  great  dome,  we  hear  His  lesson 
that  experience  mellows  the  judgment  of  a  confined 
perception  that  broadens  with  each  added  realization." 

He  bowed  his  head  in  dismissal,  and  silently  but 
happily  they  dispersed,  while  the  glory  of  their  Lord 
that  had  risen  upon  them  accompanied  them  on  their 
light-illumined  way. 


The  House  of  Landell  215 

Of  all  present,  perhaps  Philip  himself  was  the  only 
one  who  failed  of  receiving  more  than  a  temporary 
uplift.  By  a  fierce  mental  effort,  he  had  braced  him 
self,  for  the  time,  to  conceal  his  antagonistic  emotions 
and  had  forced  himself  to  state  what  he  inherently 
thought  truth.  Such  an  attitude  often  bears  the  sem 
blance  of  spiritual  exaltation  whereas  it  is  only  nerve 
afflatus.  It  may  transmit  power  to  others  for  the 
moment;  but,  evaporating,  leave  the  speaker  in  the 
deep  depression  and  poison  of  insincerity.  Like  a  man 
coming  out  of  a  debauch,  he  faced  the  conditions  which 
had  brought  him  to  his  present  state,  and  resentment 
seethed  anew  within  him.  Notwithstanding  his  detes 
tation  of  the  situation,  he  was  impelled  to  seek  help. 

"  Always  the  result,  of  pauperizing,"  he  said  scorn 
fully  of  himself,  "  it  takes  away  the  man  and  leaves 
the  thing !  " 

Again,  he  found  himself  on  the  way  to  the  Landells, 
every  click  of  his  heel  jarring  his  brain.  He  pictured 
himself  expressing  his  opinions  of  Agnes  in  unvar 
nished  terms.  This  excitement  grew  upon  him  as  he 
entered  the  library. 

"  I  am  here,  a  weakling,"  he  said  bluntly,  as  he 
greeted  his  two  hosts.  "Of  course,  you  saw  I  did  not 
enter  your  chamber  of  forgiveness,"  he  laughed  scorn 
fully,  "  I  would  not  lie,  and  as  I  could  not  follow  your 
suggestion  that  I  leave  rancor  behind,  I  decided  to  re 
main  outside  with  the  companion  of  my  waking  and 
sleeping  hours." 

"  Tell  us  about  it,  Herman,"  Mr.  Landell  drew 
chairs  together  companionably. 

"  I  can  forgive  neither  those  who  drove  me  to  penury 
nor  those  who  came  to  succor  me.  Even  you,  Miss 
Landell,  are  the  object  of  my  fierce  resentment !  Why 
didn't  you  let  me  die !  " 

Springing  from  his  chair,  he  lunged  from  one  end 


216  The  House  of  Landell 

of  the  long  room  to  the  other.  Then  he  resumed  his 
seat,  struggling  to  repress  his  feelings,  over  which  he 
had  so  slight  control. 

Agnes  shivered  violently  and  was  silent. 

"  Do  not  force  yourself  to  anything,  by  thought  or 
deed,  Herman,"  said  Mr.  Landell,  noting  the  effect  of 
Philip's  words  upon  his  daughter.  "  Let  the  pendu 
lum  swing." 

"  Do  you  believe  that  all  those  who  entered  that 
room  left  rancor  behind  ? "  Philip's  chiselled  face 
seemed  to  harden  into  marble. 

"  You  said  this  morning,  '  We  see  as  much  as  we 
are.'  I  go  further.  We  get,  not  what  we  wish,  but 
what  we  are.  You  are  far  more  than  you  realize." 

"  What  is  the  use  of  the  church  anyway! "  Philip 
forced  back  his  denunciations  against  Agnes  with  a 
mighty  effort.  His  impulse  was  to  hurl  them  upon  her 
as  he  had  done  alone  in  the  forest.  Instead,  he  voiced 
what  were  to  him  equally  vital  but  personal  issues  .in  a 
larger  sense.  "  What  is  the  church  anyway !  A  po 
litical  machine  with  political  methods,  each  sect  tena 
cious  of  its  special,  man-made  tenets,  concessions 
made  only  as  a  seine  whereby  to  catch  more  human 
fish !  I  am  no  more  at  rest  in  this  new  position  than  I 
was  in  the  old.  Even  your  idea  of  a  church,  superior 
in  its  quality  of  unity  and  incorporateness  with  daily 
expression  as  it  may  be,  seems  useless,  if  we  are  Christ- 
consciousness  in  various  stages  of  unfoldment." 

"  You,  yourself,  have  said  that  Jesus  does  not  deal 
in  externalities." 

"  I  say  many  things  with  one  part  of  my  under 
standing  that  I  utterly  repudiate  with  another  part  of 
me—  " 

"  So  do  I,"  said  Agnes,  earnestly.  "  My  philosophy 
of  life  is  very  restful  and  satisfying  to  me;  but  it  is 
like  designing.  The  unit  remains  clear  and  convincing, 


The  House  of  Landell  217 

but  I  daub  its  expression  fearfully  on  the  cardboard  of 
daily  doing." 

"  What  good  are  the  puerile  glasses ;  the  educational 
methods  the  church  attempts  to  sustain !  The  colleges 
are  at  hand!  The  schoolmasters  and  editorial  writers 
preach  far  more  effectively  and  vitally  than  we  can, 
hampered,  as  we  are,  with  dogma  and  ecclesiasticism ! 
There  are  all  sorts  of  clubs,  outside,  far  better  equipped 
than  we  can  equip  them !  There  is  not  a  leg  left  for 
the  church  to  stand  on." 

"  The  only  legs  any  of  these  things  stand  on  is  the 
truth  that  the  within  is  ceaselessly  becoming  the  with 
out." 

Philip  threw  up  his  head  as  if  catching  a  breath  of 
life-giving  ozone. 

"  True.  I  had  not  perceived  that.  The  fountains 
are  being  fed  from  the  Source!  Of  course!  It  is  a 
pity  that  such  precious  elixir  is  muddied  from  the  out 
side." 

"  There  is  no  inside  or  outside.  Bear  that  in  mind 
and  the  problem  clears.  The  church  is  one  of  God's 
expressions  in  the  world.  Universal  currents  flow 
through  it  in  worship  to  God  through  service  to  man. 
This  is  the  way  I  look  at  it,  see  if  you  agree  with  me." 
Mr.  Landell  settled  back  in  his  chair.  Instinctively, 
Philip  followed  his  example.  His  sense  of  release 
was  perceptible.  • 

"  As  I  understand  it,  the  church  is  an  institution, 
whose  use  is  to  discover,  protect  and  conserve  the  high 
est  revealed  wisdom.  It  is  not  the  whole  wisdom  of 
the  supreme;  it  is  an  aggregate  of  the  wisdom  discov 
ered  and  protected  and  conserved  by  every  type  of 
mind — a  medium  for  the  preservation  and  distribution 
of  their  partial  comprehension.  A  medium  must  ever 
be  subordinated  to  the  power  it  transmits.  It  is  not  a 
completed  revelation;  it  is  made  up  of  many  diverse 


218  The  House  of  Landell 

views.  Though  in  a  sense  a  composite  of  opinion,  in 
no  sense  can  it  be  considered  to  hold  a  complete  state 
ment  of  principle,  for  even  when  well  conceived  in  the 
soul  the  expression  passes  through  minds  by  way  of 
verbal  instruction  with  the  limits  of  physical  expres 
sion  and  finite  understanding.  Its  standards  are  con 
stantly  advanced,  through  accreted  wisdom,  granted,  as 
always,  more  intimately  to  individuals  than  to  masses, 
but  preserved  and  conserved  by  the  church.  Even  if 
these  wisdoms  of  many  minds  are  prone  to  inculcate 
half-understood  truths,  it  is  better  so  than  that  chaos 
reign.  There  are  many  institutions.  Herman,  for  the 
expression  of  the  idea  through  the  individual,  but  it 
seems  to  me  that,  in  its  many  phases  and  grades  of  un 
derstanding  of  ideas,  the  church  is  the  only  institution 
sacred  to  the  protection  of  the  ultimate  ideal,  through 
every  phase  of  the  growing  consciousness." 

"  Look  at  Galileo !  Science  would  have  found — 
why,  the  world  was  on  the  verge  of  discovering  every 
thing  when  the  church  halted  its  activities !  " 

"  For  the  protection  of  the  ultimate  ideal,  I  repeat, 
slow  dissemination  of  truth  is  indispensable.  Through 
the  ages,  it  is  recorded  that  too  great  or  sudden  an 
influx  crazes,  or  confuses,  or  blinds.  It  must  be  found 
in  peace  to  be  held  in  peace.  Every  grade,  every  ex 
pression,  erratic,  erotic  or  mental,  shows  the  perco- 
latings  of  the  stream  of  wisdom  through  millions  of 
tiny  rills.  Larger  revelation  is  received  through  some 
individuals  than  through  the  church,  because  the 
masses  linger  on  the  plain  while  single  souls  mount 
to  drink  from  the  stream  near  the  Source.  The  church 
is  not  our  salvation.  We  are  its  salvation,  and,  in 
preserving  its  integrity,  we  save  to  the  world  and  to 
ourselves  a  concerted  expression  of  the  ultimate  idea. 
Revere  the  church,  Herman,  support  it.  As  an  indi 
vidual,  bring  the  divinity  of  your  love  and  understand- 


The  House  of  Landell  219 

ing  to  bear,  to  give  the  less  discerning  truer  interpre 
tation  of  its  intent  and  use." 

"If  only  I  had  proof — just  one  proof — that  the 
painful  mediocrity  and  partial  interpretations  of  the 
church  had,  in  one  single  instance,  upheld  the  ideal,  in 
stead  of  crude  ideas  of  human,  physical  fashioning,  I 
would  work  on,  blindly  though  it  be !  One  proof !  " 
The  color  receded  from  his  face  and  left  it  deadly 
pale. 

"  I  will  give  you  one  of  many  I  could  produce ! 
When  thrust  out  of  the  church  I  adored  I  believed 
myself  shut  away  from  the  God  I  loved, — and  was 
stunned.  Perhaps  I  felt  much  as  you  do  now.  Busi 
ness  called  me  to  a  country  town  not  far  from  here. 
The  very  intelligent  clerk  of  the  hotel  drove  through 
the  section  with  me.  The  landscape  was  dotted  with 
meeting-houses  of  typical  New  England  architecture. 
During  one  of  our  drives,  I  was  thinking  scornfully 
of  the  uselessness  of  those  beseeching  steeples,  pointing 
heavenward  where  no  heaven  is,  when  my  companion 
waved  his  whip  in  the  direction  of  a  hamlet  we  were 
approaching.  '  This  is  Beabrooke,'  he  said.  '  A  man's 
life  was  hardly  safe  here  till  that  little  meeting-house 
over  there  was  built.  Since  then  it  has  been  a  thrifty, 
law-abiding  place.'  As  an  answer  to  my  soliloquy,  this 
so  impressed  me  that  during  a  protracted  stay  I  affil 
iated  myself  with  the  church,  in  order  to  discover  what 
it  took  to  construct  the  morals  of  such  a  community. 

"  The  theology  was  lurid — hot,  like  their  quarrels ; 
uncontrollably  emotional,  like  themselves;  intensely 
personal;  thoroughly  material.  Gold,  a  standard  with 
them  here,  became,  likewise,  a  standard  in  their  heaven. 
Steady,  sequential  progress,  with  moral  accountability, 
meant  nothing  to  them.  Winning  a  fight  with  fists 
or  pistols  was  a  sign  of  superiority  here;  hence,  a 
series  of  good  tough  fights  with  a  physical  devil — that 


22O  The  House  of  Landell 

meant  something.  Most  of  them  knew  nothing  of  a 
loving  earthly  father;  but  a  taskmaster  it  were  well 
to  please — that,  they  understood.  They  knew  what  it 
meant  to  be  hurt  or  hungry;  hence,  physical  disaster, 
hells  and  blood-flowing  were  comprehensible.  They 
had  to  work  so  hard  and  buffet  need  so  constantly  that 
a  heaven  of  activities  was  little  to  their  taste.  The 
half- fed,  drink-sodden  flesh  was  poor  instrument  for 
accepting  or  actualizing  the  gospel  of  action.  Theirs 
was  a  crude  idea,  compared  with  what  life  had  un 
folded  to  me,  and  its  purpose  so  hidden  that  it  was 
quite  absent  from  their  expression  of  belief ;  but  it  was 
there.  I  learned,  that  summer,  that  the  church  idea 
meets  the  demands  of  every  state  of  consciousness 
as  each  becomes  cognisant  of  the  idea,  and  its  ap 
plication  to  all  phases  of  daily  life." 

"  What  do  you  make  of  a  statement  I  heard  last 
week  from  a  noted  reverend — that  David's  adultery 
and  murder  count  for  nothing  before  the  fact  that 
he  made  the  line  straight  to  God.  What  line  pray! 
The  church  people  cry  out  against  morals  (as  a  sign 
of  spiritual  health)  as  against  a  pestilence.  I  join 
the  ranks  of  those  who  find  encouragement  in  be 
lief  of  life  beyond  the  grave  and  am  halted  by  some 
church  brother  who  begs  me  denounce  the  prevalent 
light  attitude  towards  death." 

"  That  signifies  the  degree  of  their  spiritual  awaken- 
ment.  The  church  stands  the  test  of  utility  as  well  as 
do  institutions  of  learning  and  of  law." 

"  Many  of  these  are  effete  enough,"  agreed  Philip. 

"  Truth  is  always  revealed  to  persons  before  masses; 
persons  are  always  in  advance  of  institutions;  but  the 
conservatism  of  institutions  saves  the  world  from  in 
undation  by  unproven  beliefs,  and  nurtures  and  pro 
tects  what  finally  it  acknowledges  and  affirms.  You 


The  House  of  Landell  221 

speak  of  the  paucity  of  numbers.  Jesus  chose  to  teach 
but  twelve,  intimately.  When  these  were  ready  to 
teach,  he  did  not  hold  them  static,  as  a  body,  but  bade 
them  go  into  all  the  world." 

"  That  may  be  why  the  church,  as  a  body,  seems 
composed  of  so  much  protoplasm,"  said  Philip,  cyni 
cally.  "  They  are  there  to  be  impressed,  and  when  the 
impression  is  ready  to  be  expressed,  new  forms  of 
beauty — new  forms  of  order—  "  the  cynicism  was  lost 
from  his  tones  as  his  vision  grew—  "  the  old  from  the 
new — the  training  school  from  the  kindergarten — on, 
on,  on !  "  The  light  grew  in  his  face. 

"  We  cannot  be  driven  from  the  church  by  the  crudi 
ties  and  limitations  of  its  exponents  for  we  are  its  ex 
ponents,  expressing,  in  methods  to  suit  the  mind,  and 
need,  in  sociological  and  moral  uplift,  vital  principles, 
apprehended  through  the  church  idea,  founded  in  sta 
bility,  grown  in  resistance,  and  progressing  in  rhyth 
mic  flux  and  flow  of  divine  consciousness." 

"  So  you  do  not  believe  its  province  is  to  compete 
with  '  merely  '  educational  institutions  ?  " 

"  Let  it  stand  simple  and  central,  as  you  yourself 
suggested  this  morning,  pointing  out  the  ideal,  and 
training  the  consciousness  to  perceive  its  practical  ap 
plication  in  the  daily  life.  Then  you  will  find  the 
contradictions  of  creeds  and  rites  and  beliefs  standard 
ized,  as  steps  in  unfolding  wisdom." 

"  In  our  present  civilization,"  said  Agnes,  "  the 
church  is  the  only  place  where  father,  mother,  and 
children,  side  by  side,  learn  lessons  in  active,  unified 
devotion ;  the  only  place,  where,  side  by  side,  they  are 
presented  to  the  primal  principle,  and  taught  to  work 
it  out  in  service  to  each  other  in  home  and  neighbor 
hood.  Together  they  see 


222  The  House  of  Landell 

" '  Tongues  in  trees, 

Books  in  the  running  brooks, 

Sermons  in  stones, 

And  good  in  everything.' " 

"  I  had  not  thought  of  that !  You  say  these  little 
classes  often  bear  whole  families  into  the  uplands  of 
thought.  How  often  is  it  true  of  the  college,  that 
only  the  one  of  the  family  who  attends  it  is  benefited. 
Indeed,  frequently,  the  one  is  alienated  from  the  fam- 
ily." 

'  The  church  is  neither  exclusive  nor  seclusive,  it 
is  inclusive.  As  my  father  says,  it  is  neither  outside 
nor  inside  any  institution  or  club  or  personal  inter 
course.  When  strangers  go  to  church  for  compan 
ionship,  and  come  away,  charging  indifference  of  the 
members  towards  them,  they  are  not  really  seeking 
unity  of  spirit,  but  social  interchange.  Instead  of 
realizing  it  to  be  a  centre,  sending  out  life,  steadily, 
through  many  radii,  they  fix  attention  upon  the  radii, 
forgetting  the  centre  whence  comes  the  unifying  power. 
They  are  looking  for  nothing  more  than  what  uni 
versities,  courts  of  law  and  other  phases  of  life  can 
furnish  them,  therefore,  they  receive  no  more.  I  love 
the  lines  from  the  Cherubic  Pilgrim, 

'  We  say,  in  earth,  in  heaven, 
O  God,  be  done  Thy  will, 
And  yet,  God  has  no  will, 
But  is  forever  still.' 

"  So  should  the  church  represent  its  idea — no  per 
sonal  will,  antagonizing  one  radius  with  another,  no 
state  of  consciousness  rejecting  a  constantly  enlarg 
ing  view,  but  a  centre,  holding  all  together  in  spirit — 
but  when  people  ask  for  a  church  home —  " 


The  House  of  Landell  223 

"  The  church  is  not  a  physical  home.  The  voice  of 
God  in  the  world  does  not  consist  of  teas,  clubs  and 
hand-shakes.  It  expresses  itself  in  clarity  of  vision, 
honesty  of  purpose,  exchange  of  brotherly  service,  and 
the  unfolding  of  attributes  which  humanity  possesses 
in  totality.  I  do  not  consider  that  the  clubs  are  taking 
the  place  of  the  church,  Mr.  Herman.  These  are  the 
radii  of  the  church  idea.  Individuals  must  express 
the  radii  of  a  sphere  for  it  *  takes  a  whole  church  to 
preach  a  whole  gospel.'  Rightfully,  the  expressions 
are  to  be  found  where  mankind  lives.  First  and  last, 
the  church  is  not  a  club  house,"  she  concluded  emphat 
ically. 

"  No,  it  is  the  central  fountain  where  intelligent  and 
ignorant,  refined  and  crude,  the  illumined  and  the 
blind  may  drink,  according  to  his  present  capacity," 
said  Mr.  Landell. 

"  It  is  not  the  part  of  any  clergyman  to  measure 
that  capacity,  or  to  be  praised  or  blamed  for  it,"  said 
Agnes. 

"  No,"  returned  Mr.  Landell.  "  With  laity  and 
clergy,  it  reverts  to  the  individual.  I  have  been 
through  it  all,  Herman.  Baptism  seemed  barbaric  to 
me,  after  I  was  shocked  out  of  the  emotional  belief 
I  had  held  so  long.  The  immaculate  conception  ap 
peared  immoral.  I  have  rounded  the  circle  of  research, 
studying  heart  and  circumference,  from  tradition,  fact 
and  symbol.  With  all  these  lights  upon  these  ancient 
beliefs,  my  spiritual  consciousness  now  confirms  them 
all." 

"  We  come  out  of  tradition,  through  questioning, 
don't  we,  father !  "  said  Agnes. 

"  We  do.  Then  we  question  our  doubts,  testing 
them  in  sequence,  by  the  altitude  of  our  standards." 

"  How  unreliable  we  find  reason,  then,  since  it  de 
duces  only  what  we  have  involved  in  our  limited 


224  The  House  of  Landell 

rather  than  our  universal  growth,"  said  Agnes,  while 
Philip  drank  in  their  words,  thirstily. 

"  When  Holy  Spirit  vitalizes  consciousness,  we 
realize  the  absolute  naturalness  of  the  immaculate  con 
ception,  as  against  the  horrible  travesty  of  birth  in 
travail  and  shame.  Baptism !  Communion !  "  Mr. 
Landell's  face  became  illumined,  as  he  spoke.  "  Study 
the  spirit  of  this,  dear  helper  in  a  noble  cause.  Don't 
dig  up  the  filth  of  seeming  failures.  Make  yourself 
a  dynamic  centre  of  spiritual  force.  The  church  needs 
you,  Herman.  Preach — teach  pure  idealism — the 
principle  that  the  within  ceaselessly  becomes  the  with 
out,  and  the  Source  of  Force — the  Still  God — still  with 
eternal  wisdom,  vigilance,  power  and  glory,  shall  pour 
His  power  into  expression.  Do  not  villify !  We  have 
had  enough  of  that!  Don't  claim  that  the  ministers 
wink  at  wicked  deacons.  Present  principle.  Let  it 
pour  out!  If  it  flows  with  sufficient  momentum,  the 
wicked  parishioners  will  receive  it.  It  is  not  for  you 
or  me  to  take  any  individual,  as  a  fact,  and  villify  him. 
Reserve  that  strength  to  animate  the  teaching  of  prin 
ciple.  The  church  provides  lessons  for  all  phases  of 
mind,  individual  or  congregate,  and  each,  if  he  choose, 
may  find  illumination  for  his  stage  of  understanding  in 
the  church  idea, — the  coming  of  the  Christ-conscious 
ness  to  all  the  universe.  My  boy,"  Mr.  Landell  rose 
as  Philip  made  a  spasmodic  motion  of  withdrawal,  and 
laid  his  hand  on  the  pastor's  arm,  in  a  manner  which 
showed,  more  than  anything  he  had  done,  his  sense  of 
brotherhood,  "  you  see  far  more  than  you  realize. 
Do  not  doubt  yourself,  nor  your  honesty,  when,  as 
the  result  of  one  phase  of  unfoldment,  you  express 
thoughts  such  as  you  have  spoken  from  the  pulpit, 
and  follow  these  with  vituperations  of  wholly  different 
character.  These  phases  are  stages  of  growth.  Keep 


The  House  of  Landell  225 

at  work  on  the  building  of  your  character  and  you  will 
increase  in  understanding  and  raise  others  with  you. 
It  will  be  made  plain  to  you,  sometime,  the  steps  you 
have  been  called  upon  to  take — the  wherefore  and  the 
why!" 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

"  Where  there  is  no  vision,  the  people  perish." 

Solomon. 

"  LET'S  walk  over  to  the  dingle  and  see  how  the 
pussy  willows  are  coming  on,  Agnesia,"  said  Tom  one 
day,  when  the  breaking  up  of  winter  was  filling  earth 
with  the  stirring  anew  of  life  and  the  mystery  of  its 
burgeoning. 

Agnes  hastily  slipped  into  a  walking  skirt,  and, 
catching  up  a  long  coat  ran  lightly  down-stairs,  her 
movements  showing  far  more  virility  than  in  the 
preceding  fall.  As  she  passed  the  billiard  room,  she 
took  from  the  rack  two  alpenstocks;  then  joined  Tom, 
who  was  calling  the  dogs. 

None  of  them  responded,  and  the  two  started  across 
the  uplands  to  an  intervale  beyond.  As  they  went  on, 
Tom  gave  up  alternately  calling  and  whistling  for  his 
dogs,  and  devoted  himself  to  discovering  signs  of 
earth's  awakening. 

It  was  a  brumous  day,  and  the  lights  which  played 
about  them  were  toned  with  silver  instead  of  gold. 
Clear  streams  purled  along  beds  of  tiny  stones,  their 
iridescence  heightened  in  effect  by  the  water  moving 
over  them.  Tiny  springs  bubbled  in  pathways  where 
next  month  white  dust  would  mist  the  landscape.  The 
saxifrage,  feather-sweet,  lay  close  to  the  stream,  grow 
ing  on  the  almost  naked  rocks,  waiting  for  a  few  more 
days  of  mellow  warmth  before  besprinkling  the  mosses 
and  lichens  with  petals  of  glistening  white.  In  her 
babyhood,  Agnes  had  called  these  thick  masses  of 

226 


The  House  of  Landell  227 

moss  the  pine  forests  of  the  fairies,  so  like,  in  minia 
ture,  did  they  appear  to  her. 

Beyond  the  intervale,  the  two  descended  by  an  abrupt 
incline  to  the  edge  of  the  swamp,  rich  in  fine  old  tim 
ber,  with  matted  growth  of  vines  and  young  trees  and 
great  brakes,  together  with  sweet  briar,  whose  fra 
grance  already  was  joining  the  symphonies  of  odors 
—for  such  there  be,  even  as  of  color  and  of  tone. 
Here,  as  they  anticipated,  the  pussy  willows  softened 
with  silvery  shadows  the  golding  green  of  the  parent 
stem,  and  the  cat-tails  and  sedges  near  at  hand  moved, 
colorous,  with  the  new-found  joy  of  life. 

Agnes  recalled  the  faces  of  thinkers  she  had  seen — 
unimpassioned  and  stolid  until  a  thought  arrests  the 
attention,  when  every  line  becomes  alive  and  life  flashes 
into  and  through  the  eyes.  So  the  hillside,  the  great 
rocks,  the  dormant  vegetation  were  relieved  of  brumal 
cheerlessness  because  of  the  flash  of  life  in  the  silvery, 
soft  and  silky  pussy  willows,  and  the  certain,  yet  al 
most  imperceptible  stirring  of  revitalized  life  in  the 
reeds. 

It  was  too  early  for  the  hepaticas  and,  turning  from 
the  swamp,  they  went  up  hill  toward  the  quarry. 

"  Why  don't  you  finish  your  story,  Agnesia?  "  said 
Tom,  when  they  were  well  on  their  way.  "  I  haven't 
seen  you  working  over  it  lately." 

"  I  am  at  a  standstill.  I  cannot  accomplish  anything 
more  for  Sophia,  for  she  is  I,  and  as  I  am  blind  as 
to  what  to  do  with  myself,  of  course  I  do  not  know 
what  to  do  with  her." 

"  Don't  you  dare  plan  anything  for  the  Mattee  Sue- 
and-me  part  of  it  but  to  marry  us  to  each  other.  Re 
member,  just  clear  sailing  into  port  of  home  and  love 
with  Mattee  Sue.  Whew !  What  an  outlook !  " 

"  You  may  be  woefully  disappointed  when  you  see 
her  face  to  face." 


228  The  House  of  Landell 

"  I'd  rather  know  her  mind  to  mind,  first,  as  I  am 
doing." 

"  Weigh  the  matter  carefully." 

"  She  may  make  that  totally  unnecessary !  While  I 
am  balancing  the  steelyards  she  may  be  mailing  her 
marriage  announcements.  She  seems  to  have  a  whole 
rookery  of  admirers.  All  that  keeps  my  courage  up 
is  their  number.  Look  at  these !  " 

He  drew  from  his  pocket  some  anatomical  plates. 

"  I  have  told  her  a  good  deal  about  my  work  and 
she  has  made  these  for  me.  Aren't  they  admirable! 
You  have  no  idea,"  in  quite  a  different  tone,  "  how  my 
love  for  her  is  sweetening  my  relations  to  all  the  rest 
of  the  world." 

"  I  feel,"  a  shadow  of  melancholy  moved  through 
the  tones,  "  that  it  cannot  be  right  to  approach  love  to 
God  through  love  for  the  individual.  It  substitutes 
the  personal  for  the  universal." 

"  What  on  earth !  "  Tom  halted  on  the  top  of  a 
stone  wall  over  which  he  was  about  to  assist  Agnes. 
"  Do  you  mean  that  you  think  personal  love  is  wrong'.  " 

"  Universal  love  is  the  only  reservoir  from  which 
the  personal  can  flow." 

"Of  course!  But  that  doesn't  mean  that  it  stays 
in  the  reservoir  or  even  flows  out  of  it  in  exactly  the 
same  way.  Many  of  us  young  things  don't  know 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  reservoir,  even  of  drink 
ing  water,  until  years  after  our  fathers  and  mothers 
and  sisters  and  lovers  have  given  us  many  cupfuls  of 
the  healing  draught.  What  would  God-love  flow  into 
and  through,  if  not  through  streams  of  manifested 
personality !  Drop  that  abstract  religion  and  express 
your  real  habit  of  thought.  \Vith  such  barriers  to 
your  expression,  of  course  you  can't  make  a  story. 
Sophia  means  wisdom ;  but  wisdom  is  love !  " 

"  Love  is  by  no  means  the  end  of  it  all.     You  say 


The  House  of  Landell  229 

you  like  meeting  Mattee  Sue  mind  to  mind;  but  that 
isn't  heart  to  heart,  by  any  means." 

"  How  you  do  pick  a  fellow  up !  You  never  forget 
anything  any  one  says,  and  you  bring  it  up,  ages  later, 
against  him !  " 

"  They  who  make  love  their  goal  are  only  half  way 
there.  I  don't  know  what  the  next  step  is— 

"  Then  you  do  acknowledge  that  love  has  a  place  ?  " 
sarcastically. 

"Of  course.  It  is  one  expression  of  something  so 
much  more  mighty !  " 

"  In  the  abstract  it  is  wisdom,  unmanifest  or  latent. 
It  must  be  individualized,  so  to  speak,  to  be  of  use — 
as  God  in  Jesus.  It  must  come  out  of  formless  into 
form;  it  must  manifest  potential  power  in  acting 
force." 

"  Wisdom  is  the  power.    Is  love  the  force?  " 

"  I  think  so.  The  boundary  of  this  form  I  call  per 
son  or  personality." 

"  And  it  varies  with  the  growth  and  expression  of 
our  potential,  which  always  is  God?  " 

"  Yes.  Don't  you  see  the  difference  between  this 
and  personalism  ?  " 

"  Then  the  combination  of  both  determines  the  scope 
of  personality?  " 

"  So  it  seems  to  me.  The  more  incisively  we  mark 
our  place  in  life,  the  more  of  the  personal  and  the 
more  personality  we  manifest." 

"  '  Man  is  the  evidence  of  God,  and  the  best  man 
is  the  best  evidence,'  "  Agnes  quoted  thoughtfully. 

"  You  don't  mean,  dear,  you  think  it  wrong  to  love 
father  and  mother  and  me  and  your  interests — and 
Ross  Mevin—  '  he  looked  far  over  the  hills — "  each 
and  all,  with  an  intense  and  separate  and  special  love ! 
It  is  your  desperate  desire  to  get  away  from  the  per 
sonal  God  of  '  corporeal  and  material  content '  which 


230  The  House  of  Landell 

your  church  has  taught  you,  that  makes  you  believe  so 
preposterous  a  thing.  Jupiter,  I  know  what  will 
straighten  you  out.  Love  some  man  as  I  love  Mattee 
Sue !  It  will  even  up  lots  of  things ;  warm  the  cockles 
of  your  heart;  and  be  the  best  measure  of  the  tender 
concern  you  dole  out  to  the  different  objects  of  your 
regard — if  you  wish  to  be  mathematically  correct  in 
your  distribution."  His  eyes  twinkled. 

"  I  do  love  people."  Agnes  choked  back  the  tears. 
"  You  talk  as  if  I  didn't.  I  am  always  trying  to  make 
them  happy,  yet  I  feel  so  apart  I'm  heart-broken  some 
times." 

"I  wonder  if  that  isn't  the  trouble,  dearie?  You 
ache  over  what  the  person  you  pity  is  actually  enjoy 
ing.  Bother  introspection!  That  is  consideration  of 
personal  affairs — a  species  of  flagellation  that  adds 
to  the  mind's  confusion  by  a  repetition  that  gets  no 
where.  Meditation  is  active  consideration —  " 

"  How  you  contradict  yourself !  You  are  trying  to 
make  me  personal  by  urging  me  to  be  impersonal !  " 

"  I  expect  so!  Life  is  a  paradox,  anyway!  I  think 
you  often  mix  the  other  fellow  up  with  your  own  sense 
of  personal  exhaustion  and  self-condemnation.  Wipe 
out  your  dreadful  theology  and  think  healthily  all  of 
the  time  instead  of  part  of  the  time.  Keep  on  loving 
persons,  preferably  a  person,  but  don't  make  it  so  vital 
that  your  solar  plexus  can't  give  you  a  supply  equal  to 
the  demand." 

"  Solar  plexus !  A  prize-ring  term !  Love  does  not 
come  from  the  solar  plexus!  You  will  temper  your 
mentality  with  a  little  more  emotion  when  you  love 
Mattee  Sue  a  little  more  deeply.  Your  laboratories  for 
measuring,  through  body,  the  qualities  of  soul !  O 
Tom!"  She  clung  to  him  a  moment  as  she  sprang 
toward  him  from  the  wall  where  she  had  been  poised. 
"  '  One  must  seek  for  truth  directly  within  himself  by 


The  House  of  Landell  231 

a  gradual  detachment  and  a  veritable  birth  of  his 
higher  soul.' ' 

"  I  know  what  you  are  quoting.  It  is  a  definition 
of  a  mystic.  I  prefer  '  to  discover  study  and  contem 
plate  the  same  divine  outpouring,  giving  forth  in 
divers'  portions,  endowed  with  force,  and  multiplied 
to  infinity.'  That  is  the  same  writer's  definition  of 
occultist,  and  seems  to  me  far  more  applicable  to  this 
working  life  in  which  I  am  just  now.  I  don't  know 
anything  about  a  higher  soul,  either!  I  find  life  pos 
sible  through  the  personal,  which  is  not  a  visible,  un 
changing  boundary.  The  personality  of  God  changes 
to  us,  as  experience  reveals  new  standards.  God 
grows,  to  me.  Maybe  He  grows  to  Himself,  as  we 
do  to  ourselves.  Nothing  can  take  from  me  the  joy 
of  loving  persons.  I  wouldn't  miss  having  loved 
Mattee  Sue,  if  she  threw  me  over  to-morrow." 

"  I  try  to  remember  I  am  a  part  of  God's  plan  and 
efface  myself!  " 

"  I  don't !  I  remember  that  because  I  am  a  part  of 
God's  plan,  to  slight  me  is  to  slight  God's  handiwork. 
It  is  my  business  to  see  that  the  plan  is  glorified  by 
my  expression  of  my  part.  If  I  am  a  diamond,  I  may 
not  spoil  the  crown  by  refusing  to  shine  because  I  am 
so  conscious  of  my  modesty  that  I  can't  attend  to  my 
business.  I  must  realize  that  I  shine  to  the  glory  of 
the  whole.  I  am  here,  ineffaceable,  occupying  a  place 
no  one  else  can  fill.  The  part  is  not  I !  I  am  the  part 
and  its  moving  factor.  When  the  good  of  the  whole 
demands  that  I  move,  I  move ;  thus,  I  am  always  mov 
ing,  and  so  are  you.  '  Jesus  had  a  passion  for  person 
ality  and  worked  with  individuals.  The  contagion  of 
his  spirit  revealed  men  to  themselves.'  Stop  effacing 
yourself  and  there  won't  be  so  many  Cousin  Matildas 
and  Grace  Herricks  and  Aunt  Luellas  in  your  horizon." 

"  Aunt  Luella  is  different.    She  needs  me,  I'm  sure, 


232  The  House  of  Landell 

yet,  I  can't  make  up  my  mind  to  go  to  her.  Mr.  Her 
man  might  think  I  was  avoiding  him.  Her  letters  are 
cheery,  but  they  are  always  preceded  by  that  strange 
nausea.  There  it  is  now —  ' 

"  Because  I  called  her  to  your  attention  ?  " 

"  No,  it  is  a  more  deeply  seated  suggestion  than  that 
— if  it  is  a  suggestion.  Still,  I  am  striving  to  rise  su 
perior  to  its  demands." 

"  It's  a  shame.  I  don't  understand  it,"  muttered 
Tom. 

"  Nor  I ! — But  it  is  not  disturbing  me  as  it  did — 
indeed,  none  of  these  things  are,  for  I  am  being  con 
vinced  that  it  is  nothing  abnormal  and  nothing  wicked, 
as  I  once  believed.  It  is  the  extension  of  sense  per 
ception,  and  therefore,  growth." 

"Halloo,  what's  that?" 

They  had  reached  the  old  quarry — a  desolate  spot. 
Cave-like  fissures  had  been  made  by  blasting,  and  the 
absence  of  trees,  to  the  north,  gave  a  wide  view;  to  the 
south  it  was  densely  wooded,  and  to  the  east  were  the 
meadows  and  swamp  they  had  been  skirting.  Tom's 
exclamation  was  due  to  the  sight  of  a  glistening  ex 
panse  of  white  some  distance  away. 

"  I  know  what  it  is,"  said  Agnes,  after  a  moment's 
scrutiny,  "  the  gardener  told  me  this  morning  that  a 
circus  had  had  a  breakdown  and  halted  here.  The 
white  streak  must  be  the  tents." 

"A  dreary  life,  men  and  beasts  herded  together! 
It  looks  to  me  as  if  these  quarries  were  being  opened 
up  again.  Here  are  derricks  and  workmen's  tools; 
but  no  one  in  sight.  The  lot  from  this  shaft  looks 
as  if  it  had  just  been  opened.  I  wonder  where  the 
workmen  are.  Listen !  "  Tom  cut  short  his  inspec 
tion.  "  Run,  Agnes,  and  save  yourself!  " 

Terrified,  but  with  no  loss  of  self-possession,  they 
saw,  lumbering  towards  them  from  the  thicket,  a  large 


The  House  of  Landell  233 

bear,  furious  and  frightened.  A  heavy  chain  clanked 
behind  as  she  came  toward  them  over  the  shale.  There 
seemed  no  escape,  for  behind  them  stretched  acres  of 
boulders  and  brush. 

With  sickening  horror,  Agnes  saw  Tom  striving 
to  entice  to  himself  the  anger  of  the  beast  in  the  on 
slaught  he  believed  was  inevitable.  Determined  to 
save  him,  at  whatever  risk,  she  ran  swiftly  to  his 
side,  and  waved  before  the  great  creature's  eyes  her 
long  wrap  which  she  had  taken  off  and  had  swung 
over  her  chest  as  a  protection  against  the  raw  wind. 

"  Run,  Agnes,"  panted  Tom ;  but,  intent  on  averting 
the  coming  terror  from  her  brother  to  herself,  Agnes 
waved  the  cloak  and  moved  steadily  back.  In  a  frenzy 
for  his  sister's  safety,  Tom  endeavored  to  get  between 
her  and  the  grim  pursuer,  which,  despite  all  his  at 
tempts,  lunged  rapidly  toward  her,  in  fierce  acceptance 
of  her  challenge,  and  furious  at  the  insolent  flapping  of 
the  incomprehensible  assailant.  He  ran  after  the  two, 
racking  his  brain  for  some  expedient  whereby  to  turn 
the  anger  of  the  beast  upon  himself. 

Agnes  seemed  to  fly  over  the  ground;  but  the  dis 
tance  between  her  and  the  gruesome  pursuer  was  grow 
ing  less.  With  a  quick  call  to  Tom,  which  he  did  not 
comprehend,  she  turned,  and  sure-footedly  ran  across 
a  narrow  plank  bridging  a  deep  cavity. 

Ponderously,  but  surely,  the  great  creature  followed. 
The  lithe  figure  scarcely  had  left  the  further  end  of 
the  frail  bridge,  when  the  bear  stepped  on  to  the  nar 
row  pathway,  Tom  in  mad  pursuit.  Never,  for  an  in 
stant,  did  his  brain  cease  to  teem  with  plan  after  plan 
for  his  sister's  release,  despite  their  fruitlessness.  With 
awful  vividness  he  pictured  the  final  scene  when,  with 
fetid  breath  upon  his  sister's  face,  the  creature's  awful 
arms  would  enfold  her.  He  made  great  leaps  forward. 


234  The  House  of  Landell 

At  least  she  should  not  die  without  him  by  her  side, 
nor  should  she  die  while  he  lived.  In  a  second,  he,  too, 
would  be  upon  the  plank.  He  could  almost  touch  the 
bear  with  the  tip  of  his  alpenstock. 

Suddenly,  there  came  a  shock,  which  threw  him 
back,  followed  by  a  snarl,  and  a  rattle  of  stones.  The 
board  Agnes  had  safely  crossed  could  not,  as  she  had 
surmised,  sustain  the  weight  of  seven  hundred  pounds, 
and  the  bear  had  fallen  into  the  pit. 

So  close  was  Tom  to  the  edge,  that  had  he  stood 
on  earth  or  shale,  instead  of  firm  set  rock,  his  fate 
must  have  been  sealed.  He  had  been  saved  from  fol 
lowing  the  bear  only  by  the  balance  afforded  him  by 
the  uplifted  alpenstock.  In  a  flash,  he  realized  what 
his  sister  had  foreseen.  He  stopped,  astounded.  She, 
the  mystic,  the  meditator,  had  accomplished  what  he 
had  not  even  conceived  of. 

"  '  The  hermits  lead  the  crusade,'  "  he  quoted,  auto 
matically. 

Meanwhile,  Agnes  had  turned  and  was  standing 
on  the  other  side,  looking  down  at  the  trapped  animal. 

"  I  warned  you  not  to  follow !  "  she  called  to  Tom, 
whose  attention  had  been  drawn  momentarily  from 
the  immediate  scene  by  the  commotion  in  the  brush. 
The  shouts  had  been  coming  nearer  and  a  posse  of 
men,  among  them,  the  workers  in  the  quarry,  broke 
through  the  copse,  the  bear's  keeper  at  the  head. 

"Where  is  she?"  he  cried.  Then  his  astonished 
eyes  took  in  the  situation,  while  the  growling  and 
plunging  in  the  pit  led  to  the  priming  of  rifles. 

"  Don't  shoot,"  he  cautioned,  "  old  Dogskin  is 
frightened  to  death.  Bring  on  the  meat,  and  she  needs 
water." 

"  Let  some  down  in  one  of  those  pails.  There  is  a 
rope  over  there  by  that  derrick,"  and  Tom  aided  in 
assuaging  the  thirst  of  the  beast,  whose  growls  grew 


The  House  of  Landell  235 

less  ferocious  as  the  agony  of  pursuit  were  forgotten 
and  the  hungry  maw  was  filled. 

"  I  shall  get  her  out  in  decent  human  fashion  if  it 
takes  all  night,"  said  the  keeper.  "  Thank  you  fel 
lows  for  helping  me  to  track  her.  Walk  over  to  our 
tents  and  take  a  look  at  our  animals.  We  have  a  fine 
lot — and  you,  too,  Miss. '  I'm  sure  old  Dogskin  is 
grateful  to  you,  whether  she  knows  it  or  not." 

The  brother  and  sister  started  homeward.  The 
struggle  for  lives  that  never  before  had  seemed  so 
sweet  to  themselves,  or  so  dear  to  each  other;  their 
marvel  at  the  affection  of  the  unkempt  keeper  for  his 
unlovely  charge;  the  collapse  of  strength,  that,  with 
Agnes,  so  frequently  followed  climaxes  in  her  life, 
held  them  silent. 

Tom  assisted  her  over  the  rough  places  with  a  touch 
akin  to  reverence.  Something  other  than  thanksgiving 
was  filling  his  being,  for  he  had  been  in  difficult  situa 
tions  before.  He  was  thinking  of  Agnes  and  her  denial 
of  personal  love  at  the  very  moment  she  willingly,  nay, 
eagerly,  turned  from  an  easy  escape  and  jeopardized 
her  life  to  save  his. 

They  were  near  home  before  he  broke  the  silence. 
He  assisted  her  over  the  wall  and  held  her  close  as  she 
had  held  him  for  a  moment  on  their  way  to  the  quarry. 
Then  he  took  her  sweet  face,  tired  but  love-illumined, 
between  his  hands  and  kissed  it. 

"If  personal  devotion  such  as  you  have  manifested 
toward  me,  to-day,  is  born  of  your  idea  of  universal 
love,"  he  said,  his  voice  deepened  with  emotion,  "  then, 
little  sister,  I  have  nothing  more  to  say." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

"  The  one  great  end  of  the  church  should  be 
the  building  of  a  state  where  there  is  honorable 
work  for  every  hand,  bread  for  all  mouths,  cloth 
ing  for  all  backs,  culture  for  all  minds  and  love 
and  faith  in  every  heart." 

THAT  same  evening,  Agnes  attended  a  lecture  by  Dr. 
Wehr,  the  great  psychurgist.  Tom  joined  her  later, 
and,  at  the  close,  the  two  left  together.  Agnes  was 
wonderfully  free  from  exhaustion  after  the  events  of 
the  afternoon,  and  almost  equally  free  from  the  state 
of  exaltation  which  she  had  begun  to  fear  almost  as 
much  as  the  old-time  attendant  depressions.  She  had 
listened  with  intent  delight  to  the  truths  presented  by 
Tom's  friend  and  teacher,  which  illumined  the  every 
day  problems  of  life  and  gave  basis  for  their  solution. 

"  Wasn't  that  a  wonderful  lesson  on  the  building 
of  our  lives,"  she  said,  all  intensity,  to  one  of  the  com 
pany,  as  she  passed  her  with  a  merry  good  evening. 

"  Yes,"  came  a  languid,  almost  unintelligible  voice, 
"  it  looks  like  we  must  feed  our  babies  more  carefully, 
doesn't  it!  Mine  cries  every  night;  but  I  give  him  a 
little  gin  and  he  gets  to  look  for  it — every  bit  like  his 
grandfather." 

"  Who  is  a  regular  toper,  and  she  knows  it !  "  whis 
pered  Agnes,  aghast,  to  Tom,  her  happiness  clouded 
as  she  realized  how  little  of  the  lecture's  meaning  the 
woman  had  absorbed.  She  recovered,  as  she  heard 
enthusiastic  voices  ahead. 

"  They  have  listened.  Let's  find  out  what  they  have 
gained,"  and  she  drew  Tom  forward. 

"  That  is  worth  trying,  isn't  it,"  she  said  enthusias- 
236 


The  House  of  Landell  237 

tically,  as  she  looked  into  the  bright   face  of  Mary 
Zeidee. 

"  I  didn't  do  it,  Miss  Landell,  it  was  my  mother." 

"  I  did  not  mean  to  interrupt  your  conversation,  I 
referred  to  the  lecture — 

"  Oh,"  the  girl  replied,  with  peals  of  laughter,  "  I 
was  talking  about  hair  combings." 

"  Try  it  again,  Agnesia,"  said  Tom  in  an  undertone, 
laughing  this  time  outright  at  his  sister's  consterna 
tion  as  she  left  the  group  and  drew  him  hastily  along. 

"  Don't  people  hear! "  she  cried  despairingly. 

"  As  far  as  I  can  see,  the  majority  carry  their  limi 
tations  wherever  they  go.  They  stay  at  home  with 
their  minds  and  hear  very  little  outside  of  them.  Here 
is  another  group.  Try  it.  No,  no,  let  us  pass.  With 
out  stopping,  I  can  hear  Catherine  Blaisdale  shrieking 
to  the  moon  that  she  always  goes  to  bed  with  cold  feet." 

"  It  takes  a  lot  of  patience  to  live  what  we  believe, 
doesn't  it,"  he  continued,  as  they  passed  the  talkers, 
"  I  suppose  others  have  to  be  patient  with  us,  as  well ! 
If  it  hadn't  been  funny,  I  should  have  been  as  dis 
gusted  as  you  are  now,  when,  three  minutes  after 
Dr.  Wehr's  explanation  that  the  mind  should  hold  it 
self  receptive  to  the  thoughts  of  uplift  he  was  about 
to  give  them,  two  women  began  gloating  over  an  opera 
tion.  What  those  two  have  taken  home  with  them  from 
this  evening's  study  is  the  same  thing  they  started  from 
home  with — hospital  wards  and  disease.  Like  most 
texts,  the  one,  '  As  ye  sow  so  shall  ye  reap,'  can  be 
read  so  as  to  suggest  stagnation  as  well  as  growth 
towards  betterment." 

"  To  most  of  us,  it  has  meant  that  there  is  but  one 
sowing  and  one  harvest." 

"  We  seek  to  better  our  material  crops  and  if  one 
fails  plant  another.  We  don't  wail  forever  about  the 
one  lost  crop." 


238  The  House  of  Landell 

"  There  are  my  blessed  Mrs.  Burton,  Mrs.  Bryce  and 
Marian  Fosby  just  ahead.  Whatever  they  may  have 
comprehended,  I  know  they  have  drawn  original  con 
clusions.  Good  evening,  people,  may  we  walk  with 
you?" 

"  Agnes,  didn't  that  do  your  heart  good,  to-night !  " 
Mrs.  Bryce  greeted  the  speaker  with  an  affectionate 
grasp  of  her  arm  as  she  linked  it  with  her  own. 

"  I  was  sure  I  should  find  you  ready  to  talk  it  over," 
Agnes  responded  with  relief. 

"  It  goes  without  saying  that  the  doctor  demon 
strates  it  in  his  life!  It  sounds  real,"  said  Mrs.  Bur 
ton. 

"  I  understood  what  he  meant  when  he  said  the 
word  choice  conveyed  to  him  no  idea  of  divorcement 
from  Jesus  the  Christ,  no  conception  of  a  Christ  of 
the  senses;  that  it  just  recognizes  deeper  meanings 
through  the  power,  active  or  latent,  in  every  soul. 
Explain  what  he  meant  about  tracing  through  our  lives 
the  same  processes  God  used,  when,  as  the  Great 
Architect,  He  brought  the  Ideal  to  expression  through 
the  creation  as  described  in  Genesis,"  said  Mrs.  Bryce. 

Tom  repeated  thoughtfully, — 

"  I.  In  complete  consciousness,  the  Great  Architect 
conceived  the  idea.  In  love,  He  kept  it  alive  by  brood 
ing  over  it. 

"  II.  Minutely  and  accurately  He  considered  each 
detail  of  the  unfoldment  as  it  grew  in  the  womb  of 
consciousness,  nurtured  by  understanding. 

"  III.  When  that  grew  ready  for  expression  which 
His  perception  had  seen,  and  His  love  had  fostered, 
He  declared  the  inherent  life  of  each  detail  as  it  be 
came  manifest. 

"  IV.  Then,  did  the  Spirit  of  God  move  on  the  face 
of  the  waters.  Waters,  you  know,  is  a  first  expression 
of  principle.  This  consciously  and  intelligently  con- 


The  House  of  Landell  239 

ceived,  nurtured  and  directed  idea  of  the  Great  Archi 
tect,  filled  with  His  vital  power,  expanded  through 
specified  avenues  of  activity,  sequentially,  till  it  ex 
pressed  itself  in  the  embodiment  called  man,  possessed 
of  the  breath  of  life.  This  divine  breath  entitled  man 
to  become  coworker  with  God,  though  not,  as  yet,  con 
scious  of  this  heritage.  That  knowledge  came  with 
the  birth  of  the  moral  concept — the  awakening  of  the 
intuitive.  With  this  conscious  wakening,  he  began 
to  individualize  in  the  economy  of  life.  The  so-called 
perfection  of  Eden's  garden  seemed  a  crude  waste  field 
of  immaturity  and  ignorance,  in  view  of  man's  next 
estate  as  moral  entities.  Man's  consciousness  became 
steadily  more  infilled  with  the  spirit  of  the  breath  of 
life — and  that  means  the  growing  within  us  of  the 
Christ — until,  through  stages  of  growth  of  which  the 
Old  Testament  is  a  sequential  history,  humanity  is 
proven  to  be  the  manifest  processes  of  the  growing 
consciousness  of  God.  Through  billions  of  avenues 
of  perception  and  selection  we  call  minds  is  distributed 
the  realization  that  after  all  we  are  One  Mind,  which 
is  Christ  Jesus  Our  Lord.  Dr.  Wehr  went  on  to  say 
that  as  this  realization  becomes  more  universal,  new 
types  of  expression  will  arise.  The  prototype  of  this 
expression  is  Jesus.  As  the  beetle  that  crawls  the 
ground  is  to  us,  so  are  we  to  our  possibilities." 

"  It  makes  it  so  much  clearer  to  me  to  talk  it  over," 
said  Marian  Fosby.  "  I  am  a  college  graduate — ac 
customed  to  lectures ;  but  even  I  find  it  difficult  to  take 
in  so  much  at  one  sitting,  and  I  think  it  spoils  the 
spirit  to  be  scribbling  down  notes,  instead  of  dreamily 
absorbing  the  many  influences  that  go  to  make  a  lec 
ture." 

"  I  am  glad  to  be  told  something  that  gives  us  a  le 
gitimate  right  to  be  proud  of  ourselves,  instead  of 
that  we  are  nothing.  It  gives  us  courage  to  know  that 


240  The  House  of  Landell 

it  is  our  happy  right  to  grow  and  that  our  growth 
inevitably  assists  the  growth  of  others,"  said  Mrs.  Bur 
ton. 

"  He  made  a  fine  point  about  visioning  clearly, 
thereby  giving  every  message  conveyance  through  the 
nerve  centres,  '  to  which  the  action  is  related,  by  na 
ture,'  and  which,  by  our  selections,  we  have  con 
structed,  through  past  cycles,"  said  Marian. 

"  It  makes  me  more  willing  to  shoulder  my  disad 
vantages — to  feel  that  they  are  not  unjust  burdens. 
It  makes  me  concerned  to  lay  to-day's  foundations  well 
for  to-morrow's  building,"  added  Mrs.  Burton. 

"  I  like  the  point  he  made, — that  these  building  ma 
terials  are  qualities,  and  that  noble  qualities  build  body 
structures  of  probity  and  honor,  of  love  and  intuition 
and  other  attributes,  which,  as  we  grow  in  His  likeness 
shall  be  revealed,"  said  Mrs.  Bryce,  as  she  considered 
point  after  point  of  the  talk  in  which  they  had  found 
so  much  profit  and  enjoyment.  "  How  is  the  Bible 
story  of  the  creation  like  our  lives?" 

"  It  is  this  way.  As  soon  as  we  reach  an  age  to 
make  it  possible — far  earlier  than  we  sometimes  think 
— we  must  know  what  we  desire  to  make  manifest; 
we  must  consider  the  results  if  what  we  conceive 
comes  to  maturity.  We  must  direct  the  mind's  ac 
tivity  toward  the  wished-for  end,  not  allowing  ad 
verse  impressions  to  dim  the  idea.  This  may  be  done 
in  an  instant  or  it  may  take  years.  Like  will,  these 
stages  are  reached  in  action  and  do  not  depend  on  time. 
Will- forcing  methods  shall  not  prevail.  They  shut  off 
the  vision.  Internal  uncertainty  also  halts  processes." 

"  What  you  say  translates  that  part  of  the  creed 
I  have  not  been  able  to  accept — I  believe  in  the  resur 
rection  of  the  body."  Marian  waited  eagerly  for  a 
reply. 

"  It  is  beautiful  to  think  that  embodiments  succeed 


The  House  of  Landell  241 

each  other  uninterruptedly,  in  phases  temporal,  spirit 
ual,  and  what  next  doth  not  appear,"  said  Agnes. 

"  I  have  often  wondered  why  many  who  think  purely 
possess  frail  bodies,"  said  Marian,  who  was  not  strong. 

"  Have  you  ever  noticed,"  said  Tom,  "  that  health 
is  no  greater  asset  than  any  other  one  asset,  and  that, 
after  all,  it  is  a  gauge  of  our  trust  in  good — our  ac 
knowledgment  of  our  soul's  expression.  However 
brutal  this  may  sound  can  you  not  look  back  and  truly 
say  that,  as  far  as  your  experience  goes,  ill  health  an 
nounces  faith  in  an  imperfect  idea  of  yourself,  your 
heritage  or  your  relation  to  the  Father?  " 

"  I  cannot  feel  that  is  the  whole  of  it,"  mused  Agnes. 
"  One  may  be  very  near  perfection  on  a  material  plane 
of  consciousness;  but  a  soul  in  travail,  born  into  a 
higher  vision,  but  not  yet  equal  to  coping  with  the 
knowledge  poured  in  upon  itself,  feels  intimately  its 
kinship  with  the  universe  and  suffers  for  and  with  it, 
and  not  for  and  with  itself.  Sick  with  the  anguish 
of  others;  weighted  with  responsibilities  of  which  it 
is  becoming  aware, — such  an  one  is  far  beyond  the 
man  who  is  materially  well  and  asleep." 

"  What  is  this  consciousness  you  talk  about?  "  asked 
Mrs.  Burton. 

"  The  only  way  I  can  explain  it  is,  that  it  is  the 
knowledge  that  we  exist,  innate  within  each  individ 
ualized  portion  of  God  called  the  human  soul.  This 
knowledge  is  dormant,  almost  wholly  inhibited,  until 
eons  of  involving  and  evolving  wisdom  waken  it. 
We  may  follow  the  growth  of  soul  consciousness 
through  the  expressions — cell-attraction;  awareness; 
blind  instinct;  the  reaching  out  of  instinct  to  a  state 
less  than  reason — a  stage  I  call  psychic.  As  conscious 
ness  becomes  more  clearly  defined  to  the  intelligence, 
reason  sits  upon  a  throne  and  rules.  Then,  the  con 
sciousness  of  the  soul  that  it  is  infinite  gives  reason 


242  The  House  of  Landell 

deductions  and  inductions  of  wider  and  wider  scope, 
until  we  find  that  we  are  possessed  of  something  above 
and  superior  to  reason, — intuition  and  spiritual  insight. 
After  all,  the  explanation  comes  through  realization 
of  this  consciousness  rather  than  through  words.  Do 
you  leave  us  here  ?  And  you  too,  Mrs.  Burton  ?  Good 
night!" 

"  It's  chilly,"  said  Tom,  as  he  and  his  sister  went  on 
together. 

"  I  know  my  hands  are  cold.  I  must  have  dropped 
my  gloves." 

"  Put  one  hand  in  my  pocket.  When  that  is  warm, 
come  round  to  the  other  side  and  warm  the  other  one." 

Agnes  slipped  her  hand  into  the  capacious  pocket, 
and,  sweetly  restful,  they  walked  on  in  silence.  Sud 
denly,  she  began  to  tremble,  and  clung  to  him  convul 
sively. 

"  What  is  it?  "  said  Tom,  startled. 

"  Over  there !    The  motor  car  is  wrecked." 

"  I  don't  see  anything !  What  is  the  matter  with 
you!" 

"  It's  Mattee  Sue!" 

"  Where  do  you  see  her?  " 

"  Under  the  motor  car,  beyond  the  lake,  to  the 
south!" 

"  Are  you  crazy !  What  do  you  mean !  How  do 
you  know  it  is  she?  " 

"  I've  seen  her  before — but  now — don't  ask  me  any 
questions — for  I  can't  answer  them.  She  is  pinned 
under  the  car." 

"  Tell  me !  You  don't  know  the  agony  you  are 
causing  me !  I  love  her !  Do  you  hear !  When  have 
you  seen  her?  " 

"  Hush !    Oh,  it's  terrible !    Here  comes  help !  " 

Tom  tried  to  keep  still ;  but  his  anxiety  forced  him  to 
expression. 


The  House  of  Landell  243 

"  Tell  me,  dear,  when  and  where  you  have  seen 
her?" 

"  The  night  you  left  her  letter  in  my  room  and 
found  ilin  my  hand." 

"  Why  didn't  you  tell  me  then !  I  thought  you  con 
fided  in  me,  always!  "  reproachfully. 

"  You  went  away  at  once.     Tom,  hush !  " 

For  some  seconds  she  seemed  to  watch  intently. 
Then  she  asked, 

"  Have  you  a  letter  from  Mattee  Sue  in  your 
pocket?" 

"  I  have." 

"  Could  my  fingers  have  touched  it?  " 

"  Yes.  It  is  the  only  paper  in  the  pocket  your  hand 
was  in." 

"  Do  you  suppose  I  was  enabled  to  see  her  through 
touching  that — is  it —  " 

"  Psychometry  ?  Perhaps  so.  Touch  again,  and 
try  to  see  something  more." 

She  did  so,  and  was  silent  for,  what  seemed  to  Tom, 
a  long  time. 

"  I  can  see  only  the  great  flame.  Now  it  is  dark. 
There  is  nothing." 

"  Try  again,  there's  a  dear." 

"  It  is  not  right !  This  very  evening  Dr.  Wehr 
warned  us  against  approaching  knowledge  by  forced, 
unnatural  methods.  This  sort  of  thing  has  happened 
to  me  before,  but  I  have  never  connected  the  cause 
and  the  result.  I  am  not  ready  for  this  development 
or  it  would  not  frighten  me.  It  would  come  naturally 
like  any  other  assimilated  knowledge.  This  belongs  to 
that  other  plane  he  spoke  about — the  one  between  in 
stinct  and  reason.  It  comes  of  a  negative,  dependent 
attitude  and,  perhaps,  because  of  an  exhausted 
physique,  instead  of  one  rested  and  full  of  positive 
trust." 


244  The  House  of  Landell 

'  Try  it  again,  for  my  sake."  Tom's  wish  to  in 
vestigate  phenomena  retired,  for  once,  as  his  anxiety 
for  the  love  of  his  heart  increased. 

Agnes  held  the  letter  close ;  but  the  vision  was  gone. 

"  I  have  done  wrong,"  she  sobbed,  hysterically.  "  I 
knew  it  was  sinful  to  do  that  thing  prerneditatedly, 
before  I  was  ready.  If  it  comes  when  I  do  not  court 
it,  perhaps  God  will  forgive  me — for  I  don't  know 
how  to  prevent  it — but  to  go  on  coaxing  it  after  I  had 
been  warned — I  yielded,  for  love  of  you !  That  is  al 
ways  what  personal  love  leads  to — the  following  of 
personality,  instead  of  principle." 

"  You  didn't  court  it,"  said  Tom,  exasperatedly. 
"  It  came  to  you !  For  heaven's  sake,  don't  lay  it  to  per 
sonal  love!  You  got  all  nerved  up,  this  afternoon, 
then  came  the  reaction.  In  that  state,  you  went  into  a 
crowd.  Do  put  the  cause  where  it  belongs!  Wasn't 
it  right  for  you  to  save  me  this  afternoon?  Was  it 
against  your  principle  to  be  so  personal  ?  " 

"  I'm  afraid  I  wouldn't  have  been  strong  enough 
to  refuse  if  the  two  had  been  opposed." 

"  You  never  get  into  these  frenzies  of  abnormal 
righteousness  unless  you  are  nerve-exhausted.  Do  you 
believe  the  vision  is  a  real  one?  I'm  going  to  tele 
graph.  Will  you  go  back  with  me,  or  shall  I  take  you 
home  and  send  the  message  from  there?  Make  up 
your  mind,"  as  she  hesitated,  "  here  we  are  talking, 
while  I  am  in  the  dark  as  to  whether  she  is  dead  or 
alive." 

"  I  will  go  back  with  you,  and  stop  this  folly !  Let 
me  walk  on  and  get  the  air  in  my  face.  Don't  speak 
to  me!" 

She  set  off  at  a  rapid  pace  over  the  smooth  road,  in 
creasing  her  walk  until  she  fairly  ran.  To  her  chagrin, 
as  she  turned  a  corner  suddenly  she  found  herself  face 
to  face  with  a  policeman. 


The  House  of  Landell  245 

"What's  the  matter?"  he  blurted,  then,  recogniz 
ing  her,  he  touched  his  helmet.  "  Beg  pardon,  Miss 
Landell,  what  can  I  do  for  you  ?  " 

"  Holloa,  Robinson,"  and,  to  Agnes'  relief,  Tom 
caught  up.  "  My  sister  is  doing  a  bit  of  sprinting. 
Her  only  chance  to  exercise  outside  the  orthodox  walk 
is  by  moonlight." 

The  patrolman  laughed  and  went  on,  and  Agnes, 
calmed  by  the  encounter,  joined  her  brother. 

"  Tell  me  something  more  about  your  visions  of 
Mattee  Sue?  "  Tom  pleaded  after  a  silence. 

"  I  can't,  except  that  she  appeared  to  me  so  distinctly 
that  I  was  about  to  offer  her  a  chair,  when  I  realized 
it  was  an  apparition.  I  suppose  we  are  phenomenons, 
too, — that  is,  our  shapes — don't  you? — but  there  was 
something  else  that  frightened  me — I  saw  you  in  the 
midst  of  flames." 

"  I'm  all  right,  and  I  think  the  reason  is  that,  no 
matter  what  position  I  find  myself  in,  I  am  sure  there 
will  be  a  way  out  for  me.  See?  But  I  confess,  I  am 
all  worked  up  about  this  motor  business.  Here  goes! 
Send  this  at  once."  He  delivered  the  message  to  the 
sleepy  operator,  and  the  two  turned  toward  home. 
Agnes  was  very  tired,  but,  to  her  relief,  her  hysteria 
had  departed. 

"  Why  do  you  suppose  these  things  come  to  me, 
Tom?" 

"  Don't  be  like  the  monkey,  at  Harvard,  years  ago 
who  heard  the  electric  bell  ring,  traced  the  sound  to 
the  button,  then  to  the  wire,  and  wanted  to  scratch 
open  that ;  but — spoiling  my  moral — they  didn't  allow 
him  to  kill  himself.  Let  it  ring,  and  it  serves  you; 
investigate  the  reason  for,  and  it  kills  you." 

"If  one  is  a  monkey — yes.  If  not,  it  serves  you 
ten  thousand  times  the  more." 

Tom  laughed. 


246  The  House  of  Landell 

"  You  are  never  too  tired  to  get  ahead  of  me.  I 
shall  sit  up  for  the  answer." 

"  Let  me  know  when  it  conies,"  and  bidding  him 
good  night  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs  she  went  to  her 
room.  She  heard  him  whistle  to  his  dogs,  and,  by  the 
moonlight,  watched  him  tramp  to  and  fro  on  the  well- 
kept  driveway.  The  slight  click  of  the  gravel  under 
his  feet  made  a  little  monody  of  sound  as  he  walked 
to  the  big  gates  and  down  the  road  and  back  again, 
while  the  moon  mounted  higher  and  higher  in  the  sky, 
climbing  slowly  along  the  mountain  peaks  of  cloud,  till, 
tired  out,  she  fell  asleep  behind  them,  leaving  the  April 
night  in  drowsy  gloom. 

It  struck  twelve.  Tom  could  feel  the  message  speed 
ing  upon  its  way.  He  wondered  that  it  could  be  so 
slow.  One!  It  must  have  been  delayed!  He  went 
into  the  house  with  Trumbull,  the  setter,  flung  him 
self  on  the  couch  and  dreamed.  How  the  girl  had  en 
twined  herself  about  his  heart!  Was  that  the  door 
bell?  No,  the  clock,  striking  the  half  hour!  He 
must  be  sure  not  to  let  the  messenger  wake  the  house 
hold!  What  a  marvel  Agnes  was,  to  be  sure!  The 
bell !  No,  the  three-quarter  hour !  He  must  have 
drowsed !  How  could  he,  while  even  now,  Mattee  Sue 
might  be  in  horrible  agony,  or  dead,  and  he  had  never 
seen  her  face! 

"  What  was  that,  Trumbull,  did  you  hear  any 
thing  ?  "  For  the  dog  had  pricked  up  his  ears  and 
growled.  "  Hush,  Trumbull,  good  fellow,  it's  all 
right,"  and  he  went  hastily  to  the  door.  His  teeth 
chattered;  he  could  scarcely  control  his  knees.  Never 
before  had  he  known  what  fear  was ;  but  that  night,  it 
enswathed  him.  He  was  afraid. 

The  clock  struck  four-thirty  as  he  met  the  messen 
ger.  Not  waiting  to  open  the  telegram,  he  leaped,  two 


The  House  of  Landell  247 

steps  at  a  time,  to  Agnes'  room,  Trumbull  following 
anxiously,  unwilling  to  leave  his  master  alone. 

"  Agnes,"  he  whispered  hoarsely  at  the  door.  "  It 
has  come.  Read  it.  I  can't  see,  somehow !  " 

Agnes  took  the  yellow  missive  from  his  shaking 
fingers  and  read  it  twice,  her  eyes  brimming  with  a 
merriment  her  lips  refused  to  conceal. 

"  '  Of  course  I'm  safe,'  "  she  translated  slowly,  while 
Tom  listened,  tensely.  "  '  Tommy  Tompkins  pulled 
me  out !  How  did  you  know  ?  Mattee  Sue  Romaine.' ' 

"  Tommy  Tompkins !  "  impolitely,  Tom  caught  the 
telegram  from  his  sister's  hand,  and  crushed  it. 
'  Tommy  Tompkins,  indeed !  The  little  kangaroo ! 
I'd  like  to  kick  him !  "  and  he  went  down-stairs,  quite 
forgetting  to  thank  Agnes  for  her  interest  in  his  venge 
ful  desire  to  punch  Tommy  Tompkins'  head ! 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

"  Let  them  find  out  what  my  heart  now  hopes 
and  fears." 

Erkel  Elek. 

"  Gustaga,  Georgia,  Saturday  Morning. 

"  What  do  you  mean,  Mr.  Landell,  by  frightening  respectable 
persons  out  of  their  wits  in  such  a  fashion  as  you  did  last 
night !  I'd  have  you  to  understand  you  roused  the  whole  town 
of  Gustaga !  If  you  knew  the  place,  you'd  realize  a  telegraph 
boy  sent  with  a  message  at  any  hour  after  bed  time,  never  goes 
to  the  correct  house  first,  but  makes  a  point  of  waking  up  the 
entire  neighborhood, — a  sort  of  revenge,  I  suppose  for  having 
to  make  the  trip. 

"  Your  wire  came  at  one  o'clock.  The  boy  went  to  the  next 
door,  and  roused  two  big  dogs  and  five  puppies,  together  with  a 
very  mad  man  who  said  words. 

"  Then  he  went  across  the  street,  where  they  have  a  parrot. 
I  am  glad  to  say  she  called  out  words  too,  for  it  helped  me,  who 
wanted  to  say  them  but  mustn't  for  reasons  religious  and  diplo 
matic. 

"  Then  he  went  to  a  house  on  the  other  side  where  lives  a 
very  mean  girl  who  goes  with  me  but  doesn't  like  me.  Mamma 
wonders  why  I  always  invite  her  to  things.  It's  because  I'm 
afraid  not  to !  Her  father  came  out,  and  he  said  words  too, 
and  told  the  boy  to  go  to  some  far  off  place  with  a  very  short 
name  and,  if  he  ever  came  there  again  with  a  telegram  in  the 
dead  of  night,  he'd  transfix  him. 

"  We  were  all  up  at  our  house,  because  we  were  too  excited 
over  the  accident  to  go  to  bed,  and  by  this  time,  we  began  to 
pity  the  boy.  I  knew  just  how  creepy  his  heels  felt,  with  all 
that  yapping  going  on  behind  them,  because  mine  used  to  feel 
that  same  way  when  I  was  in  short  skirts  and  those  same  dogs 
or  some  more  like  them,  were  saying  their  prayers  at  my  feet. 

"  I  never  should  have  had  your  telegram  if  papa  hadn't  been 

248 


The  House  of  Landell  249 

expecting  one  on  some  business  matters  and  it  finally  dawned 
on  his  sleepy  brain  that  the  boy  might  be  looking  for  him;  so 
he  hailed  him  at  a  venture. 

"  By  this  time  the  poor  thing  was  quite  discouraged  at  being 
so  persecuted  for  doing  his  duty;  but  then,  if  he  had  had 
more  worldly  experience,  he  would  have  known  that  is  what  one 
generally  gets  for  doing  one's  duty. 

"  When  papa  saw  it  was  for  me,  he  was  so  surprised  he 
nearly  collapsed,  and  wanted  to  know  what  it  was  all  about. 
I  read  it,  and  we  were  frightened  to  death  about  the  whole 
thing.  The  accident  was  bad  enough,  but  this  telegram  was  so 
spooky  we  have  shivered  steadily  ever  since  and  refused  to  be 
lieve  it  malaria. 

"  The  whole  square  knew  I  had  had  a  message  and  ten  girls 
were  over  before  breakfast  to  find  out  what  it  was  all  about. 
I  told  them  I  had  a  great-uncle  in  his  dotage,  who  always  tele 
graphed  me  '  happy  returns '  every  year,  on  the  exact  hour  I 
was  born — two  in  the  morning — no  matter  how  much  we  hinted 
that  we  preferred  sleep  to  congratulations.  I  always  try  to 
have  at  least  a  grain  of  veracity  in  my  statements  and  though 
you  are  not  my  great-uncle,  you  must  be  abnormally  far-sighted 
to  be  able  to  see  way  down  here! 

"  However,  there  really  was  an  accident.  I  have  not  told  you 
this  before  for  I  think  you  need  disciplining  for  frightening  me 
so  with  that  telegram.  I  never  was  so  terrified  in  all  my  life. 
I  used  to  walk  in  the  cemetery,  for  mamma  will  not  let  me 
promenade  where  there  are  men  acting  as  sort  of  rail  fences 
along  the  pavement.  What  possible  harm  can  men  do,  I  should 
like  to  know — especially  the  kind  that  lines  up  on  the  sidewalk 
and  reminds  you  of  mud  walls  in  a  Mexican  village — just  about 
as  soulful  and  intelligent.  So,  of  course,  the  cemetery  would 
be  the  only  place  left,  and  you  have  spoiled  that  for  me. 
Mamma  does  not  seem  afraid  of  having  me  walk  where  there 
are  dead  men,  but  she  is  awfully  nervous  at  having  live  ones 
near  me — I  wonder  why! 

"  Tommy  Tompkins  was  such  a  darling !  I  have  wanted  to 
fling  my  arms  about  his  neck,  oh,  ever  so  many  times,  since ; 
but  papa  says  I  ought,  really,  to  let  him  take  the  initiative,  so  I 
suppose  J  must,  don't  you?  He  will  not  be  slow,  I  am  very 
sure,  for,  he  adores  me,  and  now  that  he  has  saved  my  life  he 


250  The  House  of  Landell 

has  a  sort  of  first-mortgage  on  it — or  would  you  say,  second? 
Tommy,  bless  his  dear  faithful  heart — it  is  such  a  comfort  to 
have  one's  friends  right  beside  one  in  time  of  trouble — Tommy 
was  right  beside  me  and  we  had  been  having  a  very  confidential 
talk  between  bumps.  I  must  confess  that  when  we  crossed  street 
car  tracks  and  mud  holes,  our  voices  jerked  so  that  some  of  the 
very  most  confidential  sentences  became  rather  public  property, 
and  somewhat  mixed.  For  instance,  I  had  asked  him  to  a 
chafing-dish  party  and  he  was  just  saying  '  I'd  love  to' — at  least, 
I  suppose  it  was — when  the  car  bumped  and  he  bit  his  tongue 
and  said,  '  I  love  you '  instead.  Of  course  it  was  a  mistake. 
Like  Z'Etta's  minister  lover — she  had  refused  him  the  night  be 
fore  and  he  was  feeling  very  low,  so  when  he  rose  for  the  in 
vocation,  Sunday  morning,  instead  of  saying  '  Let  us  unite  in 
prayer,'  he  said,  '  Let  us  unite  in  love.'  I  dove  for  my  hymn 
book  which  I  had  not  dropped  and  cracked  my  head  so  loud 
it  sounded  through  the  church  and  turned  my  smiles  to  tears 
and  some  others'  tears  to  smiles — and  Tommy  Tompkins — oh  yes, 
that  reminds  me — Tommy  was  being  awfully  nice  and  was  telling 
me  that  he  adored — waffles,  I  believe  it  was — when  whiz,  bang, 
there  was  such  a  smoke,  and  why,  I  couldn't  tell  just  what 
happened ;  but  the  next  thing  I  knew,  I  was  in  a  mix  and  the 
car  blazing.  That  blessed  Tommy  Tompkins  jumped  and  pulled 
me  out  from  under  the  car  where  I  was  nearly  suffocated.  He 
risked  his  noble  life  for  me!  T  shall  never  forget  Tommy  Tomp 
kins  for  what  he  did  last  night.  But  how  on  earth  did  you 
know  about  it !  I  sincerely  hope  you  do  not  see  everything  I  do, 
it  would  be  so  embarrassing!  Tell  me  at  once,  for  you  have 
given  me  a  perfectly  dreadful  fright  and  I  feel  quite  collapsed. 
It  is  weird  enough  to  be  choked  by  flames  and  gasoline,  without 
being  surrounded  by  intelligences  and  spooks! 

"  You  would  better  write  and  thank  Tommy  Tompkins  for 
saving  my  life,  for,  really,  in  case  you  do  care  for  my  friendship, 
it  was  a  very  narrow  escape  for  me,  and  mamma  and  papa  were 
quite  prostrated.  They  are  so  grateful  to  Tommy  Tompkins. 

"  Yours, 

"  MATTEE  SUE  ROMAINE." 

"  Agnes,  listen  to  that !  " 

Disgustedly,  Tom  threw  the  foregoing  letter  into  his 


The  House  of  Landell  251 

sister's  lap  and  ploughed  his  hands  deep  into  his 
pockets,  jealously  watching,  from  under  his  eyebrows, 
the  expression  of  Agnes'  face.  "  If  I  had  Tommy 
Tompkins  within  reach,  I'd  kick  him  round  the  square 
and  back  again.  Tommy,  indeed !  I  thank  heaven,  my 
makeup  has  attached  no  such  curtailment  to  me! 
Tommy!  Pouf!" 

"  On  the  contrary,  as  Mattee  Sue  says,  you  should 
be  deeply  grateful  to  him  for  saving  her  life,"  his  sister 
replied  soberly.  Inwardly,  she  was  convulsed. 

"  Yes,  sir,  round  the  square  and  back  again,"  and 
he  savagely  kicked  a  hassock  out  of  his  way. 

"  This  settles  it !  I  am  going  to  Gustaga,  to  put  a 
spoke  in  the  wheel  of  that  upstart,  Tommy  Tompkins. 
When  I  get  there,  he  had  better  look  out !  " 

He  tramped  venge fully  down-stairs.  In  half  an 
hour  he  returned,  looking  half  sheepish  but  wholly 
determined.  Settling  himself  on  a  footstool  before 
her,  he  rested  his  head  on  the  arm  of  a  chair  near-by. 

"  You  have  such  splendid  intuitions,  tell  me,  Agnes, 
do  you  really  suppose  she  is  in  love  with  that  popin 
jay,  '  Tommy  ' !  " 

"  I  would  not  attempt  to  tell  you !  " 

Agnes  was  glad  that  her  face  was  not  within  his 
vision,  as  he  looked  intently  into  a  mirror. 

"  That  is  the  bother  with  intuitions,"  Tom  growled, 
even  in  the  midst  of  his  love  perplexities  unable  to  re 
lease  his  mind  from  scientific  considerations.  "  Intui 
tions  are  founded  on  law !  You  must  discover  the  law 
to  have  your  powers  of  permanent  and  reliable  value," 
he  continued,  half  jesting.  "Just  think!  All  these 
months  without  my  seeing  her.  What  possessed  me! 
She  is  a  girl  in  ten  thousand,"  he  hummed,  "  the  only 
girl  for  me!  Confound  those  Gustaga  fellows!  She 
may  marry  before  I  even  catch  a  glimpse  of  her !  " 

"  I  confess,  I  have  wondered,  in  view  of  the  proxim- 


252  The  House  of  Landell 

ity  of  the  South  and  the  North,  that  you  have  not  been 
sufficiently  interested  to  visit  her." 

"  I  wonder,  too,  in  the  face  of  the  enlightenment 
Tommy  Tompkins  has  given  me !  "  he  laughed.  He 
was  getting  over  his  heroics,  and  becoming  himself 
again.  "  It  seems  to  take  bombs  to  stir  me  up  as  well 
as  you,  doesn't  it!  I  wonder  I  never  have  been  im 
pelled  to  go  to  see  her !  Until  now,  I  have  been  wholly 
content  with  her  letters." 

"  Oh,  you  were  amused  and  even  interested  at  the 
romance.  You  had  been  properly  introduced,  so  the 
excitement  of  a  possible  '  repulse  '  was  removed.  Like 
many  of  your  sex,  you  were  perfectly  sure  that  a 
patient  Griselda  of  the  fourteenth  century  was  sitting 
in  a  twentieth-century  house,  awaiting  your  pleasure. 
It's  the  man  in  you.  Then,  your  work  was  paramount. 
Now  you  have  a  different  perspective.  That  is  all. 
What  are  you  looking  at  so  steadily  in  the  mirror? 
Your  eyes  haven't  left  it  since  you  sat  down.  What 
is  it?" 

"Myself!  Jupiter!  I've  never  looked  at  myself 
with  any  sort  of  discrimination  before  in  all  my  life. 
Isn't  love  a  corker — an  optician — an  oculist — an  eye 
glass-grinder !  By  the  way,  I  wonder  if  Mrs.  Lavelle 
had  a  bona  fide  love  affair  while  South !  I  believe  she 
had;  for  the  morning  she  showed  me  Mattee  Sue's 
photo  she  hid  the  picture  of  a  smashing  looking  man 
— never  offered  to  show  it.  She  looked  as  pink  and 
pretty  as  you  used  to  when  Ross  Mevin  came  about 
here  so  much.  When  would  you  go,  Agnesia?  " 

"  Sometime  next  fall,"  teased  Agnes. 

"  Fall,  nothing!    I  am  going  next  week." 

"  I  think  I  shall  go  to  Aunt  Luella's  next  week,  too. 
Her  letters  are  bright  and  she  says  she's  well  and 
happy;  but  I  feel  that  the  peculiar  impression  I  re- 


The  House  of  Landell  253 

ceive,  previous  to  the  receipt  of  her  letters,  should  be 
regarded." 

"  I  wouldn't  go.  It  will  do  your  mind  no  good  to 
scratch  the  electric  wire  for  the  sake  of  getting  nearer 
the  death-dealing  fluid— 

"  Or  the  life-giving  truth —  " 

"  I  wouldn't  go,  unless  you  want  to,  or  unless  she 
lets  you  know  in  twentieth-century  fashion  that  she 
needs  you.  It  upsets  you— and  her,  too,  as  you  can't 
stay  with  her  all  the  time.  I  do  wish  you  had  sufficient 
influence  with  her  to  get  her  to  employ  some  other 
business-manager  than  Jack  Jenkins.  He  may  be  a 
shrewd  financier  with  a  keen  brain,  but  he  keeps  it 
constantly  befuddled.  Do  you  suppose  you  could  have 
any  influence  ?  " 

"  I  shouldn't  like  to  interfere,  for  she  told  me  she 
was  going  to  leave  her  money  to  me  and  I  don't  know 
whether  she  ever  made  the  will — 

"  I  expect  it  would  go  to  the  state  if  she  doesn't 
make  one.  She  has  no  legal  heirs,  has  she  ?  Her  hus 
band  was  father's  brother  and  that  makes  her,  of 
course,  no  kin  to  us.  Sort  of  a  bother,  these  sensitive 
nesses,  yet  I  see,  very  well,  how  you  feel.  Now  I  am 
going  to  talk  with  father." 

Tom  found  Mr.  Landell  in  the  park.  Together  they 
walked  under  the  singing  pines,  the  father's  heart 
mounting,  with  his  son's,  the  rosy  heights  of  love. 

"  Go  on  your  way,  laddie,"  the  father  said  as  they 
neared  home.  "  Measure  your  ideas  by  the  standard 
of  your  ideal  and  be  sure  of  your  compass  and  the 
rule." 

They  walked  on  silently.  The  winds  of  the  fragrant 
afternoon  blew  refreshingly  upon  them.  The  sky  was 
very  clear,  and  they  watched,  up,  up,  almost  out  of 
sight,  the  swooping  circles  of  a  bird  as  it  swayed  and 


254  The  House  of  Landell 

swirled,  diving  into  and  out  of  little  clouds  of  mist 
ebbing  and  flowing  over  the  low-lying  hilltops. 

"  I  thank  you,  sir,  for  taking  this  into  your  heart 
with  your  great  sympathy,  which  is  the  only  kind  that 
listens  to  the  trifles  of  others  and  gives  to  them  the  im 
portance  they  bear  the  owner,"  and  Tom  grasped  his 
father's  hand.  "  In  other  words,  you  are  a  trump !  I 
hope  I  shall  circle  about  in  my  skies  as  successfully  as 
that  bird  is  doing." 

"  So  do  I,  laddie,"  he  added,  whimsically.  He 
looked  into  the  eyes  of  his  tall  son,  with  the  same  ten 
derness  as  when  he  was  a  baby  at  his  knee.  "  The  eagle 
must  let  the  young  ones  go;  still,  he  loves  to  swoop 
under  them,  sometimes,  and  catch  them  on  his  back 
for  a  second,  lest  their  wings  should  weaken  before 
they  have  fully  learned  to  fly." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

"  Thou  thinkest,  sun  most  bright, 
That  naught  is  radiant  as  the  glowing  light, 
When,  in  springtide  hours, 
Thou  fashionest  the  flowers; 
But,  lo!  thou  palest  quite 

Before  the  eyes  of  Amaryllis." 

Louis  XIII. 

STANDING  before  a  drawing  table,  on  the  north  side 
of  the  broad  verandah  of  a  fine  old  Southern  home,  was 
a  young  girl.  Devonienses,  Marechal  Niels  and 
Dorothy  Perkins  roses  enclosed  her  as  in  a  bower, 
shadowing  her  a  little  from  the  golden  sunshine  that 
proclaimed  a  Southern  land.  It  was  the  first  week  in 
April;  but  no  cutting  winds  jeopardized  the  beautiful 
neck  and  arms  bared  to  the  soft,  mellow  air. 

Meditatively,  she  viewed  the  anatomical  plat  on 
which  she  was  at  work,  the  keen  sensibility  of  her 
lovely  face  translating  her  discontent  or  her  satisfac 
tion,  as,  with  erring  touch,  she  perpetrated  some 
crudity,  or,  with  a  delicacy  found  only  in  the  artist, 
inborn,  brought  out  lines  in  clear  contrast  of  color, 
with  dexterous  strokes  of  pencil  or  brush. 

"Mauma!" 

There  was  an  exquisite  trailing  of  inflection  through 
her  scale  of  tone.  "  Isn't  it  very  interesting,  that  lik 
ing  a  man  makes  you  like  w'at  he  likes.  Whoever 
would  believe  it !  Tom  Landell  has  made  his  study  of 
Psychurgy  and  Biology  and  all  the  other  queer  things 
so  attractive,  that  not  only  am  I  willing,  I  am  abso 
lutely  pleased  at  reading  w'atever  he  sends  me,  and  am 

255 


256  The  House  of  Landell 

positively  anxious  to  elaborate  as  many  skulls  of  ab- 
normals  and  brains  of  Plato  as  he  wants  me  to." 

She  moved  the  table  into  a  better  light,  raising  her 
arm  to  push  aside  a  drooping  rose  which  tantalized 
her  ear,  lingering  a  moment  in  that  attitude,  as  her 
gaze  seemed  to  sink  into  the  green  of  the  weeping  wil 
lows.  With  the  intent  receptiveness  of  the  artist,  she 
felt  its  ethereal  tones  make  color  music  with  the  mili 
tant  Spanish  bayonets  and  the  rich  green  of  the  mag 
nolias.  The  deep  note  of  the  city's  industries  played 
a  sounding  bass  for  the  fluttering  staccatos  of  wander 
ing  petals  and  falling  leaves. 

It  was  time  for  the  mail  from  the  North,  and,  while 
watching  for  the  postman,  the  young  girl's  face  was 
held  in  beautiful  enchantment  by  the  sweetness  of  her 
dream.  A  witching  little  tremor  at  the  corner  of  her 
mouth  became  allured,  by  her  happiness,  into  the  open 
confession  of  a  smile. 

"  It  is  my  day  for  a  letter,"  musing.  Evidently  it 
has  become  a  matter  of  days — this  Northern  correspon 
dence — for  true  it  was,  that  the  great  needle  of  cir 
cumstance,  threading  its  way  through  the  plans  of 
men's  lives,  had  drawn  together  the  affairs  of  these 
two,  through  the  kindly  offices  of  the  learned  Dr. 
Genung  and  the  sympathetic  Mrs.  Lavelle. 

"  Mauma,  do  you  suppose  I  shall  ever  see  him?" 
speaking  her  thought  unconsciously,  without  seeming 
recognition  that  there  might  be  more  than  one  him 
in  all  the  world. 

"  I  think  it  fairly  possible,"  Mrs.  Romaine  replied 
dryly,  with  the  strange  perspicacity  which  enables  lov 
ing  mothers  to  reach  into  the  invisible  and  draw  the 
right  thread  of  their  daughter's  meditations. 

"I  wonder  if  he  will  be  as  nice  as  his  letters?" 
Aimlessly,  Mattee  Sue  picked  up  a  paper,  looking  over 
it  at  random.  Suddenly,  with  an  impatient  gesture, 


The  House  of  Landell  257 

she  tossed  it  from  her,  to  draw  it  back  to  her  again, 
puzzlingly.  With  a  tender  expression  on  her  face, 
Mrs.  Romaine  passed  into  the  house,  and  again  Mattee 
Sue  turned  to  the  beautiful  street,  looking  down  the 
gothic  vista  of  trees,  past  the  pretty  picture  of  nurses 
wheeling  their  radiant  charges  up  and  down  in  the 
sunshine. 

Finally  the  postman  appeared,  his  bag  over  his  shoul 
der.  He  was  some  time  in  delivering  the  mail  along 
the  way  and  she  watched  him  anxiously.  As  he  ap 
proached,  she  moved  to  the  edge  of  the  piazza  with  a 
lissom  grace  uniquely  her  own,  and  extended  her  hand 
for  the  Romaine  budget. 

As  the  postman  passed  on,  a  well  set-up  man  came, 
with  swinging  step,  toward  the  alluring  figure  on  the 
verandah.  He  awaited  her  attention  in  respectful  si 
lence,  though  his  eyes,  deep  as  mountain  lakes,  chal 
lenged  her  response ;  but,  having  glanced  once  through 
the  packet  she  was  examining  it  a  second  time,  a 
puzzled  wrinkle  of  disenchantment  on  her  smooth 
white  forehead.  It  was  evident  that  she  saw  him,  but 
was  too  downcast  with  her  disappointment  to  feel  her 
responsibility  as  a  hostess.  She  was  turning,  as  if  to 
enter  the  house,  when  the  stranger  intercepted  her  re 
treat. 

"  Is  this  Miss  Mattee  Sue  Romaine?  " 

A  twinkle  of  amusement  mingled  with  his  deference. 

Called,  thus,  to  herself,  Mattee  Sue  rested  her  eyes 
meditatively  upon  the  speaker,  in  a  manner  intended  to 
be  cold,  but  which  instead  gave  her  a  witching  dignity 
like  that  of  a  gracious  Queen  Titania.  Her  attempted 
severity  yielded  slowly  to  inquiry  which  peeped,  like 
an  awakened  hope,  out  of  her  mind  and  through  the 
windows  of  her  soul.  The  delicately  moulded  chin 
was  brought  exquisitely  into  relief,  as  it  tilted  upward 
and  outward,  with  the  piquancy  of  an  inquisitive  bird. 


258  The  House  of  Landell 

A  flash  of  color  swept  over  her  face  and  died  quickly 
away. 

"  May  I  be  proxy  for  the  letter?  " 

The  man  advanced  a  little,  still  remaining  on  the 
driveway. 

As  Mattee  Sue  observed  him  critically,  a  light  grew 
in  her  eyes,  until  it  bubbled  forth — 

"  Tom  Landell !  Aren't  you  ashamed  to  come  here 
like  a  second  telegram,  without  a  particle  of  reason 
for  doing  so !  " 

"  Isn't  seeing  you  reason —  " 

"  It  is  simply  terrible  on  one's  nerves  to  have  one's 
friends  act  like  shooting  stars,  on  the  twelfth  of 
August.  You  look  and  look  and  they  never  appear — 
that  is,  if  you  care  enough  about  them,  to  watch — and 
then,  w'en  you've  forgotten  everything  in  the  world 
about  them,  down  they  flash,  and  out  of  sight  before 
you  know  it." 

"  I  won't  flash  out  of  sight,  be  assured.  Won't  you 
let  me  come  in  ?  " 

"  I  ought  to  have  left  you  to  announce  yourself  as 
you  should.  Waiting  would  have  been  good  for  your 
soul,  besides !  " 

"  It  isn't  in  your  heart  to  be  cruel !  I  know  that  by 
the  kindly  manner  in  which  you  held  out  your  hands 
to  me,  even  before  you  recognized  me." 

"  I  wasn't  holding  out  my  hands  to  you,  but  for  the 
letter  you  should  have  sent  me  and  didn't." 

"  I'll  never  disappoint  you  again,  and  even  this  time 
I  have  brought  you  more  than  I  have  withheld — my 
self!  Mayn't  I  come  in?" 

"  Maybe  it  is  not  you  at  all !  " — slowly  withdrawing 
her  hands,  that,  as  Tom  had  challenged  her  with  doing, 
she  had  extended  to  him  at  recognition.  Piqued,  as 
she  thought  how  plainly  she  had  betrayed  her  pleasure 
at  his  coming,  she  struggled  to  recover  ground.  Her 


The  House  of  Landell  259 

eyes  searched  deeper  into  the  eyes  looking  up  to  hers. 
She  stiffened  momentarily,  relenting  as  he  continued, 

"  I  do  not  question  that  you  are  my  rhetoric  queen. 
/  know." 

"  Easily,  sir,  by  the  number  of  the  house !  " 

"  I  won't  step  on  that  piazza,  until  you  say  you  be- 
lieve- 

"  W'y,  Tom  Landell,  you  have  to  learn  to  believe  in 
people!  " 

"  Such  an  one  as  you  knows,  at  once,  on  the  internal 
evidence  of  the  man.  You  believed  in  me  when  I  first 
wrote,  or  you'd  never  have  answered.  You  look  just 
as  I  have  always  seen  you  in  my  visions — your  hair, 
your  eyes,  your  voice.  You  do  believe  in  me!  Tell 
me  quickly!  I  so  want  to  come  up  the  steps,  after 
the  long  journey  of  a  thousand  miles,  to  you!  " 

"  I  believe  it  is  you — but — "  She  poised  like  a 
startled  bird  before  it  takes  flight — for,  in  an  instant, 
Tom  was  beside  her,  looking  into  her  eyes  from  above, 
as  she  stood,  now,  looking  into  his. 

They  settled  themselves  on  the  piazza,  and,  bit  by  bit, 
reviewed  their  acquaintance,  dropping  badinage  as 
they  knit  closer  the  threads  of  their  friendship.  Time 
spun  itself  away,  till  the  return  of  Max  and  Etta  from 
a  drive.  The  appearance  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Romaine 
was  succeeded  by  summons  to  dinner.  Like  an  old 
friend,  Tom  was  included  in  the  dining  party.  As 
they  were  leaving  the  piazza.,  Major  Verness  cantered 
up.  As  he  alighted,  Mattee  Sue  took  a  quick  step  for 
ward,  placing  both  hands  in  his. 

"  Why  won't  one  hand  do?  "  growled  Tom  to  him 
self.  "  I  wonder  who  he  is,  anyway." 

He  was  answered  by  Mattee  Sue,  who  led  the  new 
comer  to  him,  flashing  words,  smiles  and  laughter  in 
such  rapid  succession  that  Tom  felt  the  delicious  ex 
hilaration  of  a  summer  shower. 


260  The  House  of  Landell 

"  I  am  so  very  glad  to  see  you,  Major  Verness,"  she 
was  saying  while  everybody  was  shaking  hands.  "  I 
began  to  wonder  if  you  had  quite  forgotten  your  little 
sweetheart  that  you  had  not  greeted  her  home  from 
school." 

"  She  knows  I  could  not  have  withstood  the  light  of 
her  countenance  had  I  been  near  enough  to  avail  my 
self  of  it.  I  have  been  away." 

"  Oh,  Major,  I'm  so  glad  you  realize  I'm  quite  grown 
up,  so  you  may  give  me  the  Ph.  D.  grade  of  compli 
ment.  How  I  used  to  envy  Mrs.  Lavelle  w'en  you 
made  your  truly  grown-up  speeches  to  her.  I  don't 
know  how  much  of  them  she  believed;  but  you  must 
know  that  I  know  you  just  like  to  keep  your  English 
flexible  by  use." 

"  Mrs.  Romaine  " — the  Major  turned  to  his  hostess, 
gallantly  offering  his  arm,  "  Miss  Mattee  Sue  does  me 
wrong.  Am  I  so  palpably  in  need  of  exercises  in  lan 
guage  that  I  must  practice  on  ladies!  You  do  not 
suppose  I  say  to  every  one  such  things  as  I  say  to 
you?  "  he  laughed  back  at  Mattee  Sue. 

"  Oh,  yes,  far  brighter  to  some, — quite  dazzling, 
sometimes, — sometimes,  you  know.  You  must  have 
said  it  all  before,  you  say  it  so  glibly — quite  as  I  do 
after  I've  practised  my  Latin  rules — ever  so  many 
times." 

"  It  takes  more  than  repetition  to  teach  such  finesse 
as  yours,  young  lady,"  and  the  Major  pushed  Mrs. 
Romaine's  chair  into  place.  "If  you  consider  my  skill 
in  speaking  truth  due  to  practice,  how  can  I  do  other 
than  lay  your  astute  reception  of  it  to  the  same  cause ! '' 

"  You  see,  Mr.  Landell," — Mattee  Sue  drew  Tom 
into  the  conversation,  "  Major  Verness  is  one  of  my 
very  oldest  friends." 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Landell,  I  had  the  pleasure  of  knowing 
this  young  lady  at  the  advanced  age  of  three  weeks 


The  House  of  Landell  261 

and  have  been  her  devoted  admirer  ever  since.  Your 
name  is  familiar,  sir.  Landell!  Landell!" 

"  My  hero  of  rhetoric  fame,  Major  Verness." 

"  To  be  sure.  Doubtless  you  bow  to  rhetoric  hence 
forth.  Already,  it  has  made  a  traveler  of  you,  I  see." 

Then  followed  a  delicious  medley  of  repartee,  to 
which  Tom  listened,  fascinated — a  babel  of  sounds 
into  which  the  one  voice  for  him  was  merged,  but  never 
lost.  His  eyes  were  fixed  on  Mattee  Sue.  He  felt 
that  he  could  listen,  forever,  to  her  dainty  little  upward 
portamento.  Every  new  and  bewitchingly  graceful 
poise  of  the  head  and  quick  change  in  the  flashing 
birdlike  motions  entranced  him.  She  was,  indeed,  an 
interesting  study,  as  swiftly  she  affiliated  to  herself, 
intuitionally,  what  passed  about  her. 

"  Tell  us  about  your  last  conquest,"  the  Major 
beamed  at  her,  over  the  soup. 

"  No  one  is  paying  the  slightest  attention  to  me 
now,  sir  " —the  recollection  that  she  had  shown  her 
self  unfeignedly  glad  to  see  Tom  rankling  in  her  flir 
tatious  little  head,  while,  with  the  skill  of  a  veteran,  she 
was  planning  how  to  retrieve. 

"  They  say  you  do  the  boys  very  mean ! "  The 
Major  was,  himself,  a  veteran  in  the  conquest  of 
hearts,  and  read  Mattee  Sue  like  the  diplomat  he  was. 

"  Oh  no,  sir,"  and  fun  fairly  garbed  her,  scintillat 
ing  like  the  iridescence  of  the  butterfly. 

"  I  hear  you  cut  them  all  up."  The  Major,  on  the 
warpath  for  amusement,  was  covertly  watching  Tom 
while  ruthlessly  dragging  forth  the  scalps  of  Mattee 
Sue's  sweethearts.  "  Preston  Bird  told  me,  the  other 
night,  that  you  will  tell  him  that  it  is  a  very  pleasant 
evening  and  when,  innocently,  he  agrees  with  you,  you 
ask  him  so  insistently  what  he  finds  in  it  so  pleasant, 
that  you  ball  him  all  up." 

"  Oh — er — w,  w'at  fun  is  there  in  talking  to  a  man 


262  The  House  of  Landell 

who  is  always  unanimous !  "  cooed  Mattee  Sue,  in  a 
chromatic  of  tones  that  made  Tom  prickle  all  over 
with  the  winsomeness  of  it.  "  Preston  Bird  does  me 
so  mean!  He  listens  to  me  with  such  a  superior  air! 
He  makes  me  perfectly  furious!  I'll  talk  and  talk, 
about  quantities  of  things  he  ought  to  have  at  his 
tongue's  end,  and  all  I  get  back  is  that  perfectly  in 
furiating,  '  W'y,  I  don't  know ! '  I  nearly  asked  him 
his  name,  once,  to  see  if  he  would  say,  '  I  don't  know,' 
to  that!  But  thank  the  twin  sisters  and  the  big  bear 
and  the  dipper  and  somebody's  tears  up  in  the  con 
stellations,  I  stopped  myself  in  time,  for  it  is  the  only 
thing  he  docs  know,  and  the  one  thing  he  would  never 
stop  talking  about,  if  you  got  him  started." 

"  Where  is  Gilbert  Baynes?  " 

"  W — oh — erw — y,"  and  she  dimpled  bashfully. 
"  He  wanted  to  teach  me  to  play  the  guitar  and  we  had 
a  mighty  happy  time  for  about  fifteen  minutes,  then, 
w'en  I  couldn't  get  something  or  other  about  the 
fingering,  he  took  my  hand — as  if  that  would  ever 
get  anything  into  my  head — and  told  me  the  only  way 
to  learn  expression  in  music  was  to  love  the  teacher. 
Now,  Major,  don't  you  know  that  is  too  much !  Who 
wants  to  love  anybody — this  weather!  I  call  it  right 
hard  work,  loving,  don't  you!  " 

"  Possibly  so !  "  the  Major  meditated.  "  But  I  don't 
see  how  you  can  help  loving  Tommy  Tompkins.  Cer 
tainly  he  saved  your  life." 

Mattee  Sue  blushed  a  most  adorable  shell  pink.  It 
seemed  to  come,  for  all  the  world,  from  a  tugging  at 
the  heart-strings.  Perhaps  it  was  suppressed  laughter 
at  the  thought  of  Tom  Landell's  appearance  on  the 
strength  of  her  recently  written  eulogy  of  this  hero  of 
the  motor  car. 

"  Mr.  Landell,  please  do  excuse  us  for  talking  about 
all  these  men  you  do  not  know  and  are  not  the  very 


The  House  of  Landell  263 

least  bit  interested  in.  You  will  meet  them  all  very 
soon,  especially  Tommy  Tompkins.  I  might  not  be 
here  now,  were  it  not  for  him,"  sighing  pensively. 
"  You  may  see  him  at  any  minute,  for,  since  the  acci 
dent,  he  has  been  here  constantly." 

This  was  said  with  childlike  innocence,  though  the 
remark  was  advanced,  with  admirable  skill,  toward 
Tom,  who  settled  his  pieces  upon  the  board  of  wit, 
primed  for  the  game. 

"  I  am  fascinated,  Miss  Romaine,  with  the  melody 
of  your  remarks,  though  my  intellect  has  not  yet  trans 
lated  the  symphony  of  sound.  In  other  words,  I  must 
confess  I  had  not  the  slightest  idea  you  were  talking 
about  men,  for  I  have  not  understood  a  word  of  what 
you  have  been  saying." 

Mr.  Romaine  laughed  gleefully  at  his  daughter's 
check.  Mattee  Sue  withdrew  her  pawn  and  advanced 
her  queen  toward  the  Major's  side  of  the  board. 

"  Mr.  Landell  is  a  very  great  friend  of  Mrs.  La- 
velle's,  Major  Verness.  Do  you  recall  Mrs.  Lavelle, 
Major?" 

"  With  pleasure,  you  little  mischief."    The  color  rose 

to  the  Major's  face,  and,  receding,  left  it  rather  pale. 

'  You  should  have  seen  Mrs.  Lavelle  set  all  the  old 

bachelors  by  the  ears,  Mr.  Landell,"  Mattee  Sue  teased. 

"  It  was  perfectly  delicious." 

"  You  know  we  Southerners  gloat  over  love  con 
tests  like  Indians  over  scalps,"  said  Mr.  Romaine,  in 
whose  speech  was  apparent  the  same  elision  of  the 
medial  H  as  in  his  younger  daughter;  also,  the  same 
quaint  lingering  on  the  U  until  it  reminded  Tom  of 
the  honey  he  used  to  sip  in  his  boyhood,  through  the 
winding  horn  of  the  columbine,  so  long  drawn  and 
sweet  it  was.  "  I  was  grateful  enough  to  all  of  them 
for  giving  me  such  a  race  to  watch.  I  had  not  been 
interested  in  an  up-to-date  contest  for  so  long,  I  had 


264  The  House  of  Landell 

forgotten  even  how  to  hold  the  stakes.  It  dropped 
ten  years  off  my  shoulders,  sir,  just  to  watch  the 
score." 

"  I  judge  Miss  Romaine  keeps  you  busy."  Tom 
tried  to  draw  the  conversation  back  to  his  rhetoric 
queen;  but  she  skilfully  checked  his  move. 

"  It  was  such  fun,  Mr.  Landell.  Mrs.  Lavelle  told 
both  Colonel  Shelby  and  the  Major  that  she  was  going 
to  the  Baptist  church,  but  went  to  the  Methodist;  and 
there  they  both  were,  w'en  meeting  was  over,  waiting 
to  walk  home  with  her." 

"  That  waiting  at  the  church  door  to  nab  your  best 
girl  was  the  greatest  fun  in  the  world  in  our  courting 
days,  wasn't  it,  Fanny ! "  Mr.  Romaine  turned  to  his 
wife. 

"  Yes,  Ted,  I  acknowledge  that  anticipations  of  that 
closing  event  of  the  morning  service  have  sustained 
me  through  many  a  long,  dreary  sermon." 

"  Where  is  Mrs.  Lavelle,  now,  Mr.  Landell  ?  "  the 
Major  asked  nonchalantly. 

"  The  Major  has  not  the  slightest  idea !  "  was  Mattee 
Sue's  teasing  sarcasm.  "  He  never  writes  to  her,  Mr. 
Landell,  of  co'se  not !  He  never  sends  her  his  photos, 
certainly  not !  " 

"I  knew  it!"  Tom  exclaimed  impetuously;  but, 
having  said  so  much,  he  refused  to  divulge  to  the 
laughter-loving  company  his  half  revelation  of  Mrs. 
Lavelle's  attitude  of  mind  on  the  eventful  day  of  his 
own  introduction  to  the  pictured  face  of  Mattee  Sue. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

"  The  May-time,  the  May-time, 

It  fills  the  world  with  flowers; 
God  seeth  what  I  yearn  for, 
With  all  my  quickening  powers. 

"  For  love  is  all  my  longing; 
A  maid  as  fair  as  May, 
To  bring  her  to  my  hearthstone, 
And  make  the  springtime  stay." 

"  MAUMA,  I  like  Tom  Landell ;  but  it  will  never  do 
to  let  him  see  it  too  plainly,"  was  Mattee  Sue's  dis 
criminating  remark  to  her  mother,  the  morning  after 
Tom's  introduction  to  the  Romaine  family.  "  I  shall 
invite  all  the  men  I  can  think  of,  to  meet  him.  I  never 
knew  anybody,  before,  that  did  not  make  a  dead  set 
at  love-making  right  away;  but,  after  the  first  minute, 
when  he  truly  showed  how  glad  he  was  to  see  me, 
you'd  think  I  was  just  his  chum.  I  didn't  quite  fancy 
it  at  first,  then  the  novelty  became  perfectly  delicious, 
and  now  it  feels  rather  comfortable  to  sit  and  talk 
sense  without  having  to  be  on  the  qiti  vive  to  parry 
speeches.  Most  of  the  men  that  call  on  me  I  sit  and 
giggle  at,  inside  or  out,  according  to  the  man;  but 
Tom  really  talks,  and  w'at  is  more,  with  a  talking  man, 
he  lets  you  talk  too.  W'y  Mauma,  he  talks  religion 
so  that  it  sounds  like  every  day  common  sense;  and 
science,  so  it  is  as  real  as  love-making  and  twice  as  in 
teresting.  Oh !  Here  he  comes.  Mayn't  I  get  the 
Major  to  take  us  to  the  Locks?  It  isn't  w'at  it  used 
to  be,  but  it  is  one  of  the  things  to  have  seen. 

265 


266  The  House  of  Landell 

"  Oh  Mr.  Landell,"  she  called,  as  he  approached, 
"  I  want  you  to  see  the  Locks  before  you  go  away," 
purposely  trailing  a  fleeting  touch  of  melancholy 
through  the  tones,  recovering  her  vivacity  with  ad 
mirably  simulated  effort.  "  They  are  ruining  it  and 
everything  picturesque,  nowadays,  making  us  com 
fortable.  They  cut  down  shade  trees  to  give  us  good 
roads  and  dam  up  water  to  give  us  light.  Life  is 
very  paradoxical,  isn't  it !  " 

"  As  much  so  as  quoits,"  assented  Tom. 

"  And  the  more  you  play  it  in  the  whole  the  more 
fun  it  is.  Life,  in  the  hands  of  the  vivisectionists,  is 
painful.  I  don't  like  pain." 

"  Surgeons  are  saying  that  that  is  what  keeps  our 
sensibilities  alive  to  new  issues." 

"  So  you  think  we  sleep,  mentally  and  emotionally, 
w'en  things  are  too  pleasant?"  There  was  a  wicked 
twinkle  in  Mattee  Sue's  eyes  as  her  fertile  brain  con 
sidered  this  method  of  keeping  fun  alive  and  highly 
sensitized..  Enlarging  upon  this,  behind  the  smooth 
and  innocent  brow,  she  raised  to  him,  a  face,  appar 
ently  so  devoid  of  guile,  that  he  was  roused  from  his 
matter-of-fact  commonsense  adoration.  He  yearned 
for  the  gift  of  poesy,  painting,  sculpture,  anything  that 
would  enable  him  to  preserve,  for  posterity  to  worship, 
Innocence,  as  expressed  in  thin  perfect  symbol,  her 
lovely  face. 

"  Here  comes  the  Major !  I'm  going  to  ask  him  to 
get  up  the  party.  No  one  knows  how  better  than  he. 
There  isn't  a  stick  or  stone  about  this  blessed  old 
town  that  he  doesn't  know  the  history  of,  and  adore! 
I  just  love  the  Major!  He  is  the  dearest  darling!  I 
really  believe  that  after  all  these  years  of  flitting  about 
with  a  dozen  sweethearts,  the  way  lots  of  Southern  men 
do,  that  Mrs.  Lavelle  has  won  him  with  her  very  fri 
gidity  and  aloofness.  It's  a  puzzle  to  Southern  men, 


The  House  of  Landell  267 

you  know,  w'en  a  woman  seems  to  prefer  not  to  have 
twenty  suitors  about  her  all  the  time.  It's  very  supris- 
ing,  you  know."  "  Oh  Major,"  for  by  this  time,  the 
Major  was  within  hailing  distance,  "  I  have  a  very 
great  favor  to  ask  of  you.  Won't  you  take  us  to  the 
Locks?  Not  in  a  steam  launch,  but  in  one  of  those 
lovely  sleepy  boats  that  rocks  you  up  there  like  a 
dear  old-fashioned  cradle,  with  a  mule  for  a  nurse? 
W'en  I  am  in  one  of  those  blessed  old  things,  I 
feel  as  if  I  could  hug  Ruskin  for  saying  our  brains 
would  be  wittier  if  we  used  tow-boats  and  *  all  those 
things  w'ich  induce  the  use  of  hands." 

"  That  is  one  of  the  strong  points  we  psychurgists 
make,"  said  Tom,  a  trifle  didactically.  "  The  discrim 
inative  use  of  fingers  and  hands  as  instruments  for  con 
structing  brain  cell  tissues,  has  been  found  one  of  our 
most  powerful  allies." 

"Periwinkle  and  persimmons!"  shivered  Mattee 
Sue,  wickedly.  "  I  hope  you  won't  compel  your  wife 
to  do  the  family  washing  to  make  her  more  companion 
able,  mentally.  That  might  be  a  useful  way  of  scrub 
bing  the  color  out  of  one's  theories  but  not  nearly  so 
delicious  as  crooning  them  in  sweet  bits  of  poetry — and 
other  heart  rhapsodies — to  the  jog  of  those  precious 
mules." 

Tom's  egotism  became  quiescent  under  this  pretty 
little  tongue  lashing. 

"  It  sounds  very  delightful,"  was  his  meek  reply. 

"When  should  you  like  to  go?"  asked  the  Major. 
"  Have  you  any  choice,  Landell?  " 

"  It  must  be  soon,"  said  Tom  ruefully,  "  I  sail  this 
week." 

"  I'm  bound  for  the  North  myself."  The  Major 
tried  to  speak  indifferently.  "  A  day  or  so's  difference 
is  nothing  to  me.  Suppose  we  go  on  the  same  boat?  " 

"  Our  Locks  trip  must  surely  be  to-morrow,  then," 


268  The  House  of  Landell 

Mattee  Sue  decided.  "  It  has  been  so  warm  these  last 
few  days  I  think  we  may  safely  venture.  Here  comes 
Max.  What  do  you  call,  Mr.  Landell,  that  strange 
sense  of  awareness  lovers  possess,  by  w'ich  they  al 
ways  know  w'ere  to  find  their  beloved?  Does  psy- 
churgy  explain  this  phenomenon?  " 

"  You  may  find  answer  to  that  at  the  Locks,"  warned 
the  Major.  "  You  know  it  is  considered  a  stronghold 
of  Cupid's  clan.  It  is  especially  dangerous  at  full 
moon,  for  then  their  aim  is  unerring,  their  wounds 
fatal." 

"  How  remarkable  that  I  should  have  picked  out 
just  such  a  night  for  our  party;  Major,  it  is  a  pity 
Mrs.  Lavelle  went  home  too  early  in  the  season  to 
permit  our  placing  her  within  range.  Her  armor  is 
almost  impervious !  " 

Deftly,  she  caught  the  rose  the  Major  threw  in  play 
ful  punishment  for  her  teasing  as  he  bade  them  adieu, 
to  start,  at  once,  upon  preparations  for  the  trip. 

"'Joy-bells,  joy-bells, 
What  a  truth  their  music  tells  ! ' ' 

sang  Tom  in  a  mellow  barytone  the  next  morning 
while  dressing.  He  had  been  invited  to  dine  at  the 
Romaines'  and,  as  he  labored  with  his  tie,  was  wonder 
ing  just  how  early  he  might  present  himself,  and  if, 
once  there,  it  would  seem  too  intrusive  to  stay  out 
the  afternoon.  "  '  Joy-bells,  joy-bells,'  "  he  hummed 
again,  "  I  wish  I  could  recall  the  exact  words  of  that 
dear  little  song.  It  plays  about  my  heart  constantly. 
The  theme  was  woven  from  those  few  words,  '  Joy- 
bells,'  but  there  were  two  or  three  lines  in  elabora 
tion  of  that  thought,  just  as  the  things  I  am  doing  now 
are  variations  of  the  one  motif,  I  love  her,  love  her, 
love  her!  Isn't  she  a  darling!  Her  poses,  so  unaf- 


The  House  of  Landell  269 

fected  and  absolutely  her  own,  haunt  me!  Her  deli 
cate  little  Southern  'isms  enchant  me!  I  could  listen, 
by  the  hour,  to  her  voice,  with  its  lingering  caress  upon 
the  words  and  the  semi-elision  of  consonants.  I  won 
der  how  soon  I  may  decently  go  over  there.  Ah! 
There  is  a  letter  from  Agnes !  " 

He  opened  the  envelope  that  just  then  had  skidded 
across  the  floor,  skilfully  shot  under  the  door  by  the 
bell-boy.  At  once  absorbed  in  the  contents,  his  fine 
face  lost  its  joyousness  and  grew  in  tender  concern 
as  he  read. 

"  Dear  Tom,"  it  ran ;  "  Can  you  solve  the  mystery !  You 
know  that  for  some  time  I  have  been  impelled  to  go  to  Aunt 
Luella's.  Her  letters  told  me  she  was  well  which  relieved  me 
from  any  sense  of  duty  in  the  matter,  yet,  constantly,  I  was 
urged,  within  myself,  to  doubt  their  written  message.  The  feel 
ing  that  she  needed  me,  I  turned  aside  as  emotional  sentimen- 
talism  in  view  of  the  dignity  of  my  position  in  staying  away 
from  her  and  thereby  quieting  any  gossip  that  I  was  a  fortune 
hunter.  To-day  news  came  that  she  has  passed  the  veil.  Her 
attendant  writes  that  she  seemed  well,  but  that  day  after  day 
she  had  kept  my  picture  in  the  bag  that  hangs  always  at  her 
side,  and  night  after  night  it  has  been  placed  tenderly  under 
her  pillow,  and  that  often,  through  the  night,  she  has  held  it  in 
her  arms  and  crooned  lovingly  over  it.  Why  did  they  not  let 
me  know !  Why  did  she  not  send  for  me !  During  the  past 
months,  her  only  lapse  from  health  has  been  violent  attacks  of 
nausea,  at  not  very  frequent  intervals,  which  seemed  relieved  in 
some  strange  way,  without  vomiting.  The  letter  verifies  these 
attacks  as  being  synchronous  with  my  own.  Does  that  illustrate 
the  thought,  '  By  His  stripes  are  ye  healed '  ?  " 

"  Perhaps,"  murmured  Tom,  as  he  folded  the  letter, 
"  but  it  seems  a  queer  and  unnecessary  way  of  prov 
ing  our  connection  with  each  other;  not  a  valuable 
one,  either.  Dear  Aunt  Luella,  God  speed  her! 
Heaven  show  Agnes  a  way  out!  To  shut  all  such 
phenomena  from  the  mind  might  be  comparatively 


270  The  House  of  Landell 

easy;  but  to  select  the  calls  where  one  can  serve,  and 
deny  the  rest !  " 

As  he  turned  the  letter,  he  saw  a  postscript  which 
he  read  with  the  puzzled  look  deepening  in  his  eyes. 

"  The  hour  of  dear  Auntie's  death/'  he  read,  "  I  was  in  my 
room  in  meditation.  As  I  bowed  my  head  in  prayer,  a  vault- 
like  well  in  which  was  an  eye  evolved  before  me.  I  looked  at 
it  intently,  when  the  eye  moved  into  another  well.  There  it 
remained  until  I  was  called  from  its  contemplation.  What  does 
Aunt  Luella  wish  to  tell  me?  Why  may  I  not  learn  to  know 
from  spiritual  discernment  rather  than  by  phenomena !  Do 
try  to  see  for  me !  Should  you  think  it  related  to  spiritual, 
mental  or  material  matters  ?  " 

Tom  pondered,  but  could  come  to  no  conclusion. 

"  At  all  events,  give  her  the  optimism  of  your  as 
surance/'  he  said  to  himself,  as  he  went  to  breakfast. 

Breakfast  over,  he  wrote  to  his  mother  and  sister, 
then  walked  to  the  florist's,  selecting  the  prettiest 
flowers  he  could  find.  By  that  time  he  decided  it  was 
not  too  early  to  go  to  the  Romaines'. 

As  he  had  hoped,  he  found  Mattee  Sue  on  the  piazza.. 
The  apparently  diligent  artist  was  at  her  drawing 
table  which,  in  crass  contradiction  to  rule,  was  facing 
the  south  and  an  extended  view  of  the  street.  As  he 
approached,  she  seemed  completely  absorbed  in  the 
plates  before  her ;  but  being  far-sighted  in  more  senses 
than  one,  he  knew  that  she  had  been  fully  occupied 
with  a  scrutinizing  survey  of  the  road.  Vainly  she 
tried  not  to  let  the  radiance  of  her  heart  shine  through 
her  countenance ;  but  "  one  might  almost  say  her  body 
thought,"  and  her  joy  fairly  bubbled. 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Landell — let's  take  a  drive  in  my  dear 
little  trap  so  we  can  go  into  the  club  grounds, — one 
place,  thank  Minerva's  helmet,  w'ere  those  squawking 
creatures  of  transportation — motor  cars — cannot  go !  " 

She  dipped  her  face  into  the  blossoms,  partly  to  in- 


The  House  of  Landell  271 

hale  their  fragrance,  partly  to  conceal  the  happiness 
she  felt  showing  itself  too  blatantly. 

"  Snowball,  tell  Nep  to  bring  my  new  trap,  instantly. 
Then  bring  me  some  vases.  Oh,  how  perfectly  beauti 
ful  these  roses  are." 

The  trap  was  soon  at  the  door.  The  two  started 
off,  Mattee  Sue  handling  the  reins  with  a  skill  that 
won  Tom  anew. 

"  What  a  blessing  you  sent  that  old  rhetoric  on  such 
a  mission  as  finding  me?  "  he  said,  at  length,  shaking 
himself  out  of  the  sweet  dream  into  which  he  had 
fallen,  into  the  sweeter  delight  of  hearing  her  voice. 

"  W — oh — w — er — y,  all  of  us  girls  exchanged  our 
old  books  for  new  ones.  I  think  it  colossal  egotism, 
however,  Mr.  Landell,  even  in  a  flight  of  rhetorical 
hyperbole,  to  make  any  statement  suggesting,  in  the 
most  distant  manner,  that  that  book  had  you  in  its 
mind.  Its  finding  you,  was  nothing  more  nor  less  than 
a  happen —  " 

"  There  are  no  happens.  '  There's  a  divinity  that 
shapes  our  ends, — 

"  '  Rough-hew  them  how  we  will ! '  Mattee  Sue 
completed  the  couplet  with  a  tender  touch  of  voice  and 
eye  and  a  sympathy  of  understanding  that  made  Tom 
take  fresh  heart.  Then  with  the  adorable  verve  that 
always  disclosed  itself  in  her  manner  when  convinced 
she  was  losing  her  vantage  but  was  resolved  on  rein 
stating  herself,  she  touched  the  spirited  horse  with  a 
dainty  fleck  of  the  whip  and  they  went  their  way. 

"  School  children  don't  have  to  buy  their  books  in 
Georgia,  do  they?"  said  Tom  curiously. 

"  Of  co'se.     Don't  they,  North?  " 

"  No,  the  state  provides  them  for  use  in  the  schools." 

"We  are  poor!  Poor!  You  Northerners  act  as  if 
we  enjoyed  having  nothing!" 

"  Don't  say  Northerners,  as  if  we  were  an  especially 


272  The  House  of  Landell 

noxious  sort  of  beast  in  some  isolated  department  of 
the  world's  menagerie." 

"  W'y,  then,  don't  we  have  art  museums  and  boule 
vards  and  reforms  and  plenty  of  money  to  pay  our 
teachers !  " 

With  a  side  glance  at  Tom,  she  saw  she  had  scored 
a  point,  and,  gleefully  hugging  herself,  continued, 

"  Please  do  not  come  and  poke  your  superiority  into 
our  faces.  Every  Yankee  I  ever  met,  looks  at  us  with 
a  commiseration  that  shows  plainly  he  believes  us  in 
capable  of  putting  on  our  cuff  buttons,  even,  without 
assistance  from  them.  I  suspect  those  letters  you  have 
forgotten  to  mail,  that  are  sticking  out  of  your  pockets, 
are  pitiful  attempts  to  transfer  my  dialect  to  paper.  I 
hope  it  will  be  fully  as  interesting  to  your  friends  as 
your  brogue  is  to  mine !  " 

"  I  am  doing  no  such  thing,"  Tom  hastened  to  as 
sure  her,  funnily  pathetic  in  his  hope  to  hold  himself 
high  in  her  favor,  "  I  would  not  attempt  it !  I  wish 
I  might,  for  yours  is  the  most  fascinating  melody  of 
sound  I  ever  listened  to, — with  its  dear  little  inimitable 
elisions  and  its  original  journeys  among  the  intervals 
of  the  scale,  weaving  the  most  entrancing — 

"  You  giggle,  inside,  every  time  I  drop  my  G's  and 
H's."  Mattee  Sue  was  in  no  wise  mollified.  '*'  You 
don't  know  how  I  have  tried  to  tack  those  abominable 
letters  w'ere  they  belong.  feel  sure  I  have  not 
dropped  more  than  a  hundred  or  two-00-00-/  and  I 
used  to  drop  thousands !  There,  I  saw  your  eye  w'en 
I  said  tew !  " 

"  I  love  it !  Believe  me !  Why  should  I  want  you  to 
say  oo ?  There  is  no  music  in  it  and  no  taste.  I  assure 
you,  my  sister  does  not  say  oo!  Your  speech  is  like 
liquid  honey  or  the  carol  of  the  mocking-bird  in  your 
own  lagoons !  I  could  no;,  imitate  you  if  I  would !  I 
have  always  thought  attempts  to  reproduce  dialect —  " 


The  House  of  Landell  273 

"  I  haven't  any  more  dialect  than  you  have  brogue," 
flashed  Mattee  Sue. 

"  I  was  going  to  say,"  said  Tom,  growing  cooler  as 
Mattee  Sue  warmed  to  the  conversation,  "  I  consider 
it  buffoonery.  Speech  cannot  be  separated  from  per 
sonality.  Speech, — '  Le  style — c'est  I'homme! '  It 
makes  me  happy  that  you  care  enough  for  me  to  feel, 
even  for  the  moment,  like  adjusting  your  enunciation 
to  please  my  ear." 

"  Certainly,  you  have  a  fine  vocabulary  at  your  com 
mand,"  scoffed  Mattee  Sue.  "  As  for  pleasing  you,  I 
am  only  studying  differences.  I  still  assert,  you  all 
act  as  if  you  doubt  our  ability!  Ability,  you  may 
happen  to  remember,  is  power  to  perform !  O  Tom !  " 

They  were  driving  over  a  high  bridge  at  a  lively  trot, 
when,  coming  laboriously  up  the  incline,  a  slight,  nine- 
year  old  boy  uncertainly  wabbled  his  way  on  a  bicycle. 
Fearfully,  with  hopes  of  avoiding  them,  he  ran  the 
machine  into  the  vehicle,  himself  falling  between  the 
wheels,  which,  in  an  instant  more  would  pass  ruth 
lessly  over  the  slender  little  frame. 

Tom's  heart  stood  still.  He  was  powerless  to  pre 
vent  the  catastrophe,  for  the  child  had  fallen  on  Mattee 
Sue's  side  of  the  trap. 

Without  drawing  in  the  horse — there  was  no  time — 
the  girl  stooped  toward  the  child.  Even  before  his 
body  touched  ground,  her  arm  described  the  splen 
did  cycloid  curve  the  eagle  makes  when  he  swoops 
upon  his  prey,  and,  catching  at  the  collar  of  his  blouse, 
she  swung  the  little  fellow  on  to  the  trap  even  while 
his  pitiful,  terrified,  "  Please  don't  run  over  me  "  was 
quivering  on  the  air. 

"  Yes,  ability  is  power  to  perform,  you  magnificent 
little  trump !  "  cried  Tom,  in  an  enthusiasm  of  pride 
at  the  fortunate  termination  of  a  nearly  heart-breaking 
tragedy. 


274  The  House  of  Landell 

"  You  seem  to  need  a  kindergarten  demonstration 
to  teach  you  that  any  of  us  Gustaga  girls  can  lift  a 
man  to  the  clouds  if  we  wish, — and  drop  him  with 
equal  facility,"  she  concluded  after  an  infinitesimal 
pause. 

Tom  gasped.  Perhaps  she  meant  to  do  that  to  him ! 
She  had  been  so  kind  and  had  lifted  him  so  high — and 
it  was  notorious  that  Southern  girls  were  skilled  tac 
ticians  in  heart  affairs.  They  could  slip  your  head  into 
a  noose  and  leave  it  there  while  you  supposed  you  were 
being  led  through  the  gates  of  Paradise.  What  chance 
had  he!  He  was  only  a  straightforward  man,  des 
perately  in  love  and  accustomed  to  walking  directly  to 
his  goal.  Only  the  sincerity  of  his  purpose  and  his 
habit  of  working  till  he  got  what  he  wanted,  could 
withstand  the  subtilty  of  her  finesse. 

"  Now  Howard  Keep,  do  you  learn  to  ride  that 
bicycle  before  you  come  spirating  up  this  hill  again," 
she  was  saying — with  severity,  to  conceal  her  agitation 
— as  the  little  fellow,  frightened,  but  grateful,  jumped 
down  to  his  wheel,  uninjured  on  the  roadway.  "  And 
don't  ride  into  danger,  again,  before  you  are  twenty- 
five,"  she  tossed  after  him,  with  an  air  of  angelic  in 
nocence.  "After  that  "—her  eyes  saw  Tom  as  dis 
tinctly  as  if  she  were  looking  into  his  face — "  you  will 
not  be  a  bit  better  able  to  cope  with  it;  but  you  will 
seem  fairer  sport  for  fate." 

At  six  in  the  evening  the  party  started  for  the  boat 
landing.  As  the  automobiles  turned  into  the  main  busi 
ness  street  and  faced  the  west,  Tom,  as  never  before, 
noted  the  ethereal  beauty  of  the  memorial  monument 
poised  in  an  atmosphere  all  its  own,  apparently  un 
sullied  and  untouched  by  the  soot  and  dust  of  lower 
air.  It  seemed  a  luminous  manifestation  rather  than  a 


The  House  of  Landell  275 

marble  shaft,  and  the  visitor's  aesthetic  and  emotional 
nature  was  stirred  to  the  depths. 

"  What  grace !  "  he  said  reverently.  "  Its  simple  dig 
nity  must  impel  the  regard,  even  of  the  thoughtless.  A 
symbol  of  the  ideal  is  ever  before  one  who  drives  into 
the  sunset  from  the  eastern  approach  of  this  street. 
Back  of  the  vista  of  trees  at  the  further  end,"  he  medi 
tated  aloud  to  Mattee  Sue,  who  sat  beside  him,  "  hangs 
the  sun,  like  a  ball  of  flame.  The  dust  from  the  broad 
avenues  on  either  side  the  green  sward  of  the  mall  is 
like  a  rain  of  red  gold  falling  to  earth,  to  rise  in  fire 
mist.  The  sun  sends  long,  lurid  bars  through  the  at 
mospheric  glow,  and  illumined,  poised  in  the  white  light 
against  the  background  of  foliage,  of  translucent  dis 
tance  and  of  dust  flame,  overlooking  the  city  stands  the 
soldier  on  this  pure  white  shaft,  never  betraying  his 
trust,  watchful  of  the  city's  ideals,  a  suggestion  that 
every  citizen  shall  be  the  same,  a  type  of  faithfulness 
and  honor!  Somewhere,  I  have  read  a  poem,  The 
Man  on  the  Monument!" 

"  Yes,  it  is  about  this  very  shaft."  Mattee  Sue's 
face  glowed  with  that  patriotism  for  her  fatherland 
found  and  nurtured  in  almost  every  Southern  heart. 

"  I  do  not  wonder  it  appealed  to  a  poet's  vision ! 
Every  time  I  come  into  this  street  and  face  the  sunset 
and  see  that  figure  limned  against  the  sky,  the  blue 
of  the  heavens — truth — for  his  background  and  his 
ether,  I  shall  long  to  put  into  words  the  power  I  feel 
transfused  in  me  through  the  ideal  it  represents." 

He  saluted,  as  they  passed. 

"  Here  is  some  more  golden  water,  as  you  politely 
called  our  huge  mud  puddle  the  other  day,  when  you 
were  entertaining  fancies,  more  removed  from  the 
dramatic  and  poetic,  and  closer  to  the  civil  engineer 
ing  chamber  of  your  brain,"  and  Mattee  Sue,  who 
liked,  what  she  called  heroics,  only  for  short  periods, 


276  The  House  of  Landell 

drew  Tom's  attention  to  the  stream  they  were  ap 
proaching.  "  It  is  not  the  river,  this  time,  though,  it 
is  the  canal.  Pretty  soon,  we  shall  be  at  the  landing. 
There  is  the  boat  waiting  for  us,  now." 

With  much  laughter  and  delicious  flutters  of  excite 
ment,  the  automobiles  came  to  a  stand,  and  ere  long 
the  occupants  had  taken  possession  of  the  commodious 
tow-boat  with  its  wide-spread  awnings.  Rhythmically, 
and  with  the  dolce  far  niente  of  his  kind,  the  driver 
transfused  into  the  sleepy  mule  an  action  that  seemed 
to  Tom  rather  an  extension  of  stillness  than  a  change 
to  motion.  Indeed,  there  was  to  him  the  drowse  of 
the  land  of  the  Lotos-Eaters  over  everything,  and  with 
half  shut  eyes  he  rested  in  the  lap  of  indolence. 
Dreamily,  he  felt  the  rope  tremble  and  move  swishingly 
against  the  sedges.  Almost  imperceptibly  the  boat 
obeyed  the  impulse  and  began  to  cut  the  stream  with  a 
cradle-like  swing.  It  brushed  the  banks  tenderly,  as 
with  gentle  farewell,  then  swung  boldly  into  the  centre 
of  the  channel;  past  the  mills,  less  like  factories  than 
like  feudal  castles — under  the  bridges,  far  from  the 
black  city  smoke,  farther  and  farther  into  nature's 
heart.  The  sun,  magical  alchemist,  transfused  life  and 
brilliance  into  the  muddy  waters,  until,  sparkling  and 
floating,  swaying  and  dipping,  clarified  into  a  sheet  of 
liquid  gold,  it  mirrored  strongly  shadowed  cloud  effects 
and  imaged  the  celadon  green  of  the  grasses.  Slowly, 
at  first,  then  with  the  rapid  oncoming  of  the  Southern 
twilight,  the  clouds  swept  the  sky.  Masses  of  black 
and  gold,  yielding  to  copper  and  bronze  and  sepia 
browns  and  nile  and  apple  greens,  shimmered  faintly 
away,  until  they  melted  into  the  colors  and  odors  of 
the  sedges  as  their  aroma  was  crushed  from  them  by 
the  rope  attached  to  the  elbow  of  the  drowsy  man  on 
the  back  of  the  plodding  mule.  As,  from  moment  to 
moment,  the  fluttering  clouds  of  fancy  faded  to  the 


The  House  of  Landell  277 

border  land  of  dreams,  so  day  slipped  to  night;  its 
light  the  moon,  with  satellites  of  stars. 

Making  himself  one  with  the  merriment  of  the  party, 
still  Tom  endeavored  to  keep  his  mind  in  the  delicious 
maze  into  which  love  had  led  it.  Unimaginative,  in  a 
sense,  and  thoroughly  practical,  as  he  was,  this  mys 
tical  spell  stole  over  him  with  a  novelty  and  charm 
he  was  loth  to  break.  With  the  strange  flash  of  recol 
lection  which  calls  up  incongruous  figures  to  illustrate 
some  gripping  truth,  he  saw  himself,  as  a  boy,  trying 
to  shake  the  milk  in  a  bowl  without  disturbing  its  rich 
coating  of  cream.  So,  now,  he  tried — and  he  laughed 
grimly  to  himself  as  he  followed  the  figure — to  give  the 
joy  of  his  companionship  to  the  merry  crowd,  while 
holding  the  richness  of  this  love  dream,  without  jar 
or  interruption,  in  his  heart.  Ever  and  anon,  his  half 
shut  eyes  dwelt  upon  the  enchantress  who  had  so  com 
pletely  enmeshed  his  emotions  and  led  him  captive, 
while,  in  the  intervals,  with  eyes  wide  open  and  in 
tellectual,  he  parried  the  banter  of  those  about  him  and 
gave  his  Roland  for  every  Oliver  with  a  charm  that 
made  him  the  lion  of  the  occasion. 

After  three  hours,  the  boat  edged  its  way  heavily 
to  shore,  and  the  party  landed  at  the  Locks.  The 
moon,  poised  above  the  massive  masonry  and  natural 
crags,  silvered  the  turbulent  waters  as  they  seethed 
against  the  background  of  rock  and  cedrine  hills.  It 
was  a  scene,  indescribable,  never  to  be  forgotten — this 
majesty  of  nature — silent,  even  in  the  thundering 
water,  the  soughing  trees,  the  life,  immanent,  of  the 
motionless  yet  vibrant  rocks. 

In  a  moment,  the  boat  was  emptied  of  its  human 
freight;  a  bugle  crashed  into  the  conclaves  of  the 
pines;  fiddle  and  trombone  stirred  waves  of  sound  in 
the  symphony  of  night.  Echoes  heralded  the  melody, 
playing  with  ever-changing  variations  upon  the  theme 


278  The  House  of  Landell 

of  life.  Scouting  groups  tested  the  pavilion  floor, 
circling  discreetly  away  from  chaperones  in  well- 
planned,  lengthening  curves. 

After  a  few  turns,  Tom  drew  Mattee  Sue  outside 
the  pavilion,  and  together  they  reached  a  jutting  of 
masonry.  Time  was  leaping  with  long  and  hateful 
strides  toward  the  hour  of  his  departure,  and  he 
grudged  every  minute  of  trivial  converse  with  others 
when  he  longed  to  send  his  coul  further  toward  the 
realization  of  his  quest.  From  the  massive  bulwark 
of  stone  they  looked  upon  the  rampant,  turbulent 
waters,  which,  strong  in  comradeship  with  lovers,  ex 
pressed,  in  songs  without  words,  a  willingness  to  en 
fold  in  their  noisy  surging  the  voices  of  the  man  and 
maid.  Beyond  the  ledges  of  gaunt  and  naked  crags 
were  the  serenely  flowing  waters  of  the  canal. 

Encouraged  by  the  immensity  on  every  side,  their 
voices  rose  upon  the  night  zephyr  and  were  lost  in 
the  rustling  of  the  dead  oak  leaves  restively  moving 
upon  the  stems  that  had  held  them  all  too  long.  In 
rests,  staccatos,  silences  and  exclamations,  their  souls 
moved  to  the  accompaniment  of  the  seething  mass  be 
low,  as,  in  swirling  rhythmic  nocturne,  it  played  the 
dreamy  mystery  of  the  Southern  night,  an  impelling 
accompaniment  to  the  intermittent  melody  of  their 
speech,  as  love  pulsed  in  and  about  them  as  strong  as 
life  itself. 

At  times  throughout  the  afternoon,  Tom  had  felt 
inundated  with  a  depression  wholly  alien  to  his  tem 
perament.  It  had  seized  upon  him  after  Mattee  Sue's 
insinuation  that  ability  implies  a  latent  power  of  an 
nihilating  men.  Alternating  with  attacks  of  merri 
ment  and  blissful  introspection,  he  had  been  the  prey 
of  moods,  an  unheard  of  thing  with  him.  As  for 
Mattee  Sue,  she  was  in  a  delicious  tremor  of  excite 
ment.  Even  as  she  had  seen  Howard  Keep  wabble 


The  House  of  Landell  279 

his  uncertain  way  toward  the  inevitable,  she  had  known 
Tom's  capitulation  imminent.  She  knew,  too,  that 
she  could,  with  equal  ease,  raise  him  to  the  heights,  or 
leave  him  to  disappointment. 

"  You  know  why  I  am  here,"  his  voice  sang  into 
her  heart.  "  You  know  why  I  am  a  thousand  miles 
from  home  beneath  a  Southern  sky." 

"  To  study  types,  I  suppose,"  was  Mattee  Sue's 
succinct  reply.  "  To  learn  w'y  we  are  so  poor  we  can't 
buy  schoolbooks !  " 

"  I  am  too  desperately  in  love  to  be  tormented !  I 
can't  stand  it!  Be  as  good  to  me  as  you  were  to 
little  Howard  Keep.  Do  not  leave  me  writhing  be 
tween  the  wheels  of  your  wit  and  sarcasm !  " 

As  was  her  custom  in  affairs  of  coquetry,  when,  as 
the  Major  said,  she  was  preparing  to  hang  hearts  on 
her  scalp  belt,  her  lips  opened  to  parry  his  suit;  but 
one  look  at  his  face  melted  her  mood.  His  earnest 
ness  and  simplicity  proved  a  more  virile  power  than 
any  art  of  fencing.  Her  head  drooped.  She  turned 
her  face  aside,  but  listened. 

"  Life  has  such  wonderful  experiences  for  us  both," 
Tom  went  on,  earnestly,  "  let  us  find  them  together." 

Mattee  Sue  stood  silhouetted  in  the  moonlight. 
Her  shadow  stirred  as  she  quivered  with  the  wonder 
of  a  new-found  tenderness. 

"  You  do  love  me !  You  do  believe  in  me !  My 
rhetoric  queen!"  His  heart  joined  its  throbs,  almost 
audibly,  with  the  sound  of  pine  and  wave.  He  noted 
her  attitude  of  listening,  and  urged  his  suit. 

Unconsciously,  she  swayed  toward  him,  her  chin 
leading  the  beautiful  bended  head,  until  the  fair  face, 
luminous  with  emotion,  was  raised  slowly  upward  and 
her  eyes  met  his.  The  two  seemed  lifted  up  and  drawn 
together.  A  sense  of  perfect  safety  and  rest,  enfolded 
her.  In  this  man  were  to  be  found  those  "  high  erected 


280  The  House  of  Landell 

thoughts,  deep  seated  in  the  heart  of  courtesy,"  of 
which  she  long  had  dreamed ;  deep,  stirring,  true,  real, 
restful,  and  safe — the  courtesy  in  which  a  woman 
could  abide  and  know  to  be  love.  She  gave  a  happy 
little  sigh. 

"  I  believe  in  you — and  love  you !  " 

"  Do  you  always  bring  your  plans  to  such  rapid 
culmination?"  said  Mr.  Romaine  the  next  day  after 
dinner. 

"  Rapid,  Mr.  Romaine !  "  protested  Tom.  "  It's 
been  over  two  years !  " 

"  That  sounds  like  an  eternity,  as  you  intone  it !  You 
do  not  expect  to  take  my  daughter  away  with  you,  I 
hope?" 

"  There  is  nothing  I  should  like  better ;  but  I  sup 
pose  I  must  give  you  a  few  months  to  get  used  to 
the  parting.  I  shall  endeavor  to  express  in  my  atti 
tude  toward  your  daughter,  as  my  wife,  her  right  as 
an  individual,  wife  and  mother,  and  to  make  our  lives 
a  union  of  love  and  of  understanding." 

"  God  bless  a  lover  like  yourself,"  Mr.  Romaine 
covered  his  emotion  under  the  careful  selection  of  a 
cigar,  "  and  bring  you  both  to  the  fulness  of  your 
high  desire." 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

"A  truth  that  the  heart  acknowledges  last  of 
all,  that  even  if  we  poured  out  our  own  blood  in 
streams  for  any  one,  we  could  not,  thereby,  give 
him  a  drop  of  richer  or  more  noble  blood  than  is 
found  in  his  own  heart." 

THE  platform  was  filled  with  friends  of  Tom  and 
the  Major  bidding  them  good-bye.  The  reason  for 
the  latter's  trip  North  seemed  as  clearly  defined  in  the 
minds  of  the  merry  group,  as  was  the  coming  of  Tom 
South.  Amidst  laughter,  waving  of  handkerchiefs  and 
hats,  the  train  moved  slowly  away,  gradually  increas 
ing  its  speed  until  out  of  sight  and  the  two  settled  down 
for  a  season  of  congenial  companionship.  The  Major 
whiled  away  the  hours  with  lively  bits  of  history  con 
cerning  the  country  through  which  they  traveled,  its 
past,  present  and  future,  the  business  prospects,  new 
industries,  towns  springing  up  by  the  way,  with  now 
and  then  a  war  story,  as  a  passing  scene  or  old  planta 
tion  recalled  to  mind  one  of  many  "  before  the  war  " 
legends. 

They  reached  the  port  city,  and  soon  were  at  the 
wharf  and  on  the  steamer,  Tom  enthusiastically  watch 
ing  the  loading  of  the  boat  with  its  cotton  freight, 
and  the  Major,  to  whom  that  scene  was  familiar, 
equally  interested  in  watching  Tom. 

"  Yes,"  he  responded,  in  answer  to  a  question,  "  that 
fellow  who  sets  the  pace,  gets  extra  wages  for  the  noise 
he  is  making." 

"  See  them  hustle  to  get  in  these  last  bales,"  called 
Tom,  as  excited  as  a  lad. 

281 


282  The  House  of  Landell 

"  Look,  yonder  go  the  hatches.  The  next  thing  of 
interest  will  be  the  swearing.  Of  all  extensive,  ex 
pansive  cussers  Captain  Crossleigh  is  the  most  expan 
sive.  I  hope  we  shall  have  a  good  trip."  The  Major 
settled  himself  to  watching  the  casting  off  of  the  lines 
and  the  sliding  away  from  the  wharf  into  the  channel 
and  down  to  the  sea. 

The  river  lay  like  the  broad  sheet  of  gold  of  ancient 
poetry  as  the  boat  steamed  slowly  down  to  the  bar. 
The  rice  fields,  with  their  wonderful  greens,  than 
which,  among  all  of  nature's,  there  is  none  more  deli 
cate;  the  foreign  shipping  in  the  harbor;  the  many 
matters  which  awakened  interest  on  a  new  trip,  kept 
Tom  on  the  alert. 

"  I  recall  coming  up  here  one  night  in  the  late  fall." 
The  Major  moved  his  steamer  chair  a  little  closer  to 
the  gunwale.  "  We  worked  our  way  at  a  snail's  pace 
through  the  crowded  harbor.  It  was  moonlight  and 
cold.  The  scows  about  us  were  covered  with  sail 
cloths  and  the  hoar  frost  encrusted  them,  sparkling 
and  glistening  in  the  moonlight.  They  looked  like  huge 
corpses  laid  out  on  mighty  biers.  I  assure  you,  it  was 
weird." 

"  '  Full  many  a  shape  that  shadows  were,'  "  quoted 
Tom,  thoughtfully.  "  I  wonder  how  the  Ancient  Mari 
ner  felt  when  he  saw  them  floating  all  about  him." 

"I  know  how  I  felt!  I  realized,  as  never  before, 
how  truly  we  are  ghosts — ephemeral  shapes  of  an  idea. 
After  all,  we  are  like  those  scows,  filled  with  sail- 
covered  actualities.  When  conditions  favor,  we  may 
throw  aside  these  shrouds  we  are  pleased  to  call  the 
all-powerful  body,  and  display  what  we  are  inwardly. 
I  have  not,  for  a  great  while,  had  in  mind  the  poem 
you  quote,  but  now  there  comes  to  me  the  stanza  fol 
lowing  that  one — lines,  descriptive  of  the  moment  when 
the  life  within  the  seeming  dead  reveals  itself, — 


The  House  of  Landell  283 

" '  Each  corse  lay  flat, — 'lifeless  and  flat, 
And  by   the   holy  rood, 
A  man  all  light,  a  seraph  man, 
On  every  corse  there  stood.' 

"  Watch !  We  are  nearing  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
Note  the  difference  in  the  color  at  the  bar  and  beyond. 
At  once,  the  golden  mass  becomes  a  tossing,  billowing, 
foam-capped  silver  sheet,  extending  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  see.  Isn't  that  a  pretty  good  illustration  of  the 
effect  of  influence  in  the  making  of  humanity?  " 

"  Tom  Landell !  "  A  voice  that  conveyed  but  a  dim 
sense  of  recognition  to  Tom's  ears  made  itself  heard 
at  his  elbow.  "  Let  me  see !  Have  I  met  you  since 
my  marriage  with  Jack  Jenkins?  Oh,  of  course! 
Everybody  thought  I  was  going  to  be  Mrs.  Horace 
Vernon,  you  know — what  an  escape!  I'd  introduce 
Jack  but  unfortunately  he's  down  with  rheumatism, 
poor  fellow.  He  is  a  thorough  man  of  the  world — 
a  nice  man — he  could  give  you  lots  of  dots, — ' 

Her  face  clouded  a  little  but  she  rambled  on. 

"  I  forgot.  You  know  Jack  already.  He's  got  all 
of  your  Aunt  Luella's  money — maybe  you  don't  know, 
if  you've  been  away  long.  She  left  no  near  heirs  and 
made  the  will  in  his  favor  at  the  last  minute.  It  was 
a  great  tribute  to  her  confidence  in  him,  and  it  affected 
him  very  much.  Her  death  quite  broke  him  up  and  he 
was  obliged  to  have  a  change,  so  we  took  this  trip  to 
get  the  sea,  and  turned  right  round  and  came  back, — 

"May  I  introduce  my  friend,  Major  Verness?" 
While  Grace  stopped  to  take  breath,  Tom  seized  the 
opportunity  to  present  his  companion. 

Grace  gave  an  almost  imperceptible  nod,  and  began 
again,— 

"  Where  did  you  come  from,  Tom?  " 

"Gustaga.    We—" 


284  The  House  of  Landell 

"  Oh,  did  you !  Mr.  Jenkins  and  I  were  going  there ; 
but  he  had  a  dreadful  attack,  poor  fellow,  and  we 
didn't  get  so  far.  He  suffers  terribly  with  rheumatism. 
Do  you  ever  see  Horace  Vernon,  nowadays  ?  He  was 
a  nice  man —  Her  eyes  clouded  again,  but  she  went 
on,  "  So  glad  to  know  you,  Major  Verness.  Jack  will 
like  to  meet  you,  I'm  sure.  I'll  see  you  at  dinner." 

She  went  to  her  husband's  stateroom  and  tapped. 
A  sodden  voice  bade  her  enter  and,  when  the  door 
opened,  no  explanation  was  necessary  as  to  the  sort 
of  rheumatism  from  which  Jack  Jenkins  suffered. 
Escaping,  in  an  agony  of  disgust,  she  went  to  an 
adjoining  stateroom  and  threw  herself  upon  the  bed 
in  a  tempest  of  tears. 

"  A  man  of  the  world !  "  she  sobbed.  "  God,  can't 
you  hear  me !  Tell  me  what  to  do !  " 

She  went  to  dinner  that  night,  radiantly  pretty,  her 
eyes  gleaming  with  the  mysterious  and  fascinating 
splendor  that  only  tears  can  give.  No  belladonna,  no 
kohl,  no  secrets  of  the  boudoir  bestow  such  mystery  of 
charm  to  eyes  as  tears  shed  by  a  broken  heart,  but  con 
quered,  mellowed,  and  steeped  in  smiles. 

She  had  wheedled  the  purser  into  placing  her  at  table 
near  the  two  men  she  knew  and  kept  the  ball  of  con 
versation  tossing  lightly  in  her  usual  flippant  manner. 
At  the  close  of  the  meal,  smiling  coquettishly,  she  left 
them  and  went  to  her  stateroom.  As  before,  she  threw 
herself  upon  the  bed,  this  time,  sobbing,  "  Horace, 
Horace,  what  have  I  done !  " 

"  See  here,  Tom,"  said  the  Major,  as  the  sound  of 
rain  beating  against  the  porthole  woke  the  two  men, 
"  do  you  know  we  are  cutting  through  this  water  like 
scudding  clouds !  I  never  was  on  a  boat  going  at  such 
speed!  By  the  way,  is  that  Mrs.  Jenkins  a  special 
friend  of  yours?  " 


The  House  of  Landell  285 

"  No — she  lived  near  my  aunt,  and  my  sister  knew 
her,  and  has  always  kept  up  with  her.  I  can't  imagine 
why,  unless  it's  because  she  adores  being  in  at  the 
awakening  process.  She  is  a  sort  of  godmother  of 
souls — is  my  sister." 

"  Her  husband's  rheumatism,  poor  fellow,  gets  on 
my  nerves.  I  imagine  it  does  on  hers,  too.  This  boat 
is  going  like  a  house  afire.  Suppose  we  reconnoitre." 

"  Don't  you  think  it's  all  right?  " 

"  I  reckon  so ;  but  there  is  no  harm  in  our  looking 
about  and  seeing  what  we  can  see." 

The  men  prepared,  hastily,  to  go  on  deck.  As  the 
Major  opened  the  stateroom  door,  he  halted  an  in 
stant,  threw  up  his  head,  then  walked  on  rapidly,  Tom 
following  closely,  scenting  danger. 

The  captain  had  just  come  from  the  hurricane  deck 
and  was  standing  at  the  prow  looking  over  the  wide 
expanse  of  ocean  looming  in  the  darkness.  The  boat 
was  plunging  ahead,  cutting  the  water  with  a  hissing 
sound  and  leaving  behind  a  broad,  light  green,  foamy 
wake.  The  captain  turned  and  greeted  them. 

"  A  gallant  sailor,"  said  the  Major,  as  the  boat 
throbbed  under  him. 

"  Yes,  sir,  a  craft  to  be  proud  of." 

"  Well  freighted  with  cotton?  " 

"  To  the  very  hatches." 

The  Major  stepped  closer  and  spoke  in  an  under 
tone. 

The  captain's  chin  shot  out  and  his  eyes  almost 
closed,  while,  between  their  lids,  there  flamed  the  steady 
light  of  courage  and  determination. 

"  How  did  you  know !  For  God's  sake,  keep  it 
secret.  I  have  three  hundred  souls  on  board." 

"  Not  to  know  that  smell !    There's  nothing  like  it !  " 

"  Like  what?  "  Tom  questioned. 

"  The  cotton  is  on  fire,"  was  the  Major's  low  re- 


286  The  House  of  Landell 

sponse.  "  Captain,  at  this  rate,  what  is  the  earliest 
we  can  hope  to  land?  " 

"  Thirty  hours,"  his  firm  jaw  set  more  firmly  still. 

He  returned  to  the  hurricane  deck  and  did  not  leave 
it  for  some  time,  while  the  great  search-light  swept 
the  dark  spaces  and  his  eyes  were  strained  to  see  land 
—land! 

When  Grace  appeared  at  the  breakfast  table,  as 
pretty  as  ever,  no  one  would  have  dreamed  that  all 
night  long  she  had  lain  awake  feasting  on  the  bitter 
fruit  of  repentance,  with  the  eye  of  a  good  sailor, 
watching  the  horizon  line  appear  and  disappear  as  the 
ship  bowed  and  bounded  over  the  waves. 

"  Good  morning !  "  she  said  briskly.  "  How  finely 
we  are  driving  along.  Jack  is  not  coming  to  breakfast. 
He  has  rheumatism  so  badly,  poor  fellow." 

"  How  much  easier  to  call  it  sick, — and  not  half  so 
irritating,  if  she  really  wants  to  lie,"  thought  the 
Major.  "  Evidently  she  has  adopted  that  phrase  and 
holds  to  it,  irrespective  of  fitness.  Adjustability  takes 
brain,  I  suppose !  " 

"  Do  you  carry  all  your  beautiful  jewels  about  with 
you?"  as,  later,  they  were  standing  at  the  prow,  the 
two  men  serious  with  the  burden  of  their  terrible 
secret  and  Grace  making  valiant  attempts  to  coquette 
with  them  as  she  played  with  her  handsome  rings. 

"  Oh,  I  leave  them  about  anywhere.  There  are  a 
lot  in  my  stateroom,  now." 

"If  you  won't  mind  my  suggesting  it,  I  would  se 
crete  your  valuables  upon  your  person.  There  are 
often  sneak  thieves  on  boats." 

Thrown  into  a  flutter  of  excitement,  Grace  hurried 
to  her  stateroom  to  follow  the  Major's  advice,  just  as 
Captain  Crossleigh  appeared,  cool,  suave,  and  smiling. 

"  Major,"  he  concealed  the  gravity  of  his  words 
behind  a  jovial  laugh  that  could  be  heard  by  the  by- 


The  House  of  Landell  287 

slanders  when  the  words  could  not,  "  I  shall  burst  the 
boilers!  Don't  look  concerned  or  the  others  will  sus 
pect.  Laugh,  for  God's  sake,  laugh !  " 

The  two  obeyed,  and  the  echo  of  the  sound  haunted 
them  for  many  and  many  a  day. 

"  I  have  followed  your  advice,"  Grace  told  them  on 
her  return.  "  Jack  wanted  to  know  what  I  was  do 
ing;  but  he  was  in  such  pain  he  didn't  notice  especially. 
Do  you  mind  if  I  stay  about  with  you,  Tom?"  a 
shadow  of  wistfulness  in  her  tones,  "  I  like  you  for 
your  sister's  sake.  She  is  the  only  one  in  the  world 
who  doesn't  treat  me  as  if  I  were  a  never-to-be-any- 
thing-else-flibbertigibbet — except  one — and  he  didn't 
hold  out."  She  broke  off  suddenly.  "Mercy!"  re 
turning  to  her  usual  manner.  "  Isn't  this  boat  cutting 
the  water!  I  don't  consider  it  safe!  Do  you,  Major 
Verness?  It  makes  me  nervous!  Did  you  speak  to 
the  captain  about  it?  I  saw  him  leave  you  just  as  I 
came  on  deck." 

"  Pretty  fast  craft,  this,  stranger,"  remarked  a  by 
stander.  "Don't  you  call  it  pesky  risky  traveling?" 

"  So  much  the  better !  "  laughed  the  Major.  "  The 
sooner  to  home  and  sweetheart." 

"  Why  is  this  boat  plunging  along  like  a  mad 
thing?"  a  bright  little  woman  addressed  him  in  low 
tones.  "  Don't  utter  platitudes  to  me,  I  beg,"  checking 
the  jovial  answer,  "  I  know  the  odor!  There  is  noth 
ing  like  it!" 

"  Only  the  majesty  of  calmness  will  bear  us 
through,"  the  Major  returned,  under  his  breath. 

"  I  saw  the  burning  of  a  boat  off  Apple  Island —  " 
she  shuddered,  moving  closer,  as  they  stood  by  the 
gunwale,  oblivious  that  the  waves  at  times  dashed  over 
the  railing  upon  them — "  the  captain  ran  for  the  old 
wharf  at  Shirley  Gut,  and,  as  the  fiery  mass  cut  through 
the  waves,  the  people  jumped  for  their  lives.  The 


288  The  House  of  Landell 

steward's  wife  was  swept  under  the  wheel  and  ground 
to  death!  I  saw  her  go!" — 'She  trembled. — "Under 
the  wheel,  and  I  saw  her  go !  " 

"  It  is  best  not  to  dwell  on  that  now.  We  shall  not 
go  beneath  the  wheel  but  on  to  the  fair  green  land  to 
live  and  love, — "  The  Major  was  interrupted  by 
Grace,  who  came  hurrying  to  them. 

"  Major !  "  she  called,  with  the  wild  inconsequence 
of  fright,  "  I'm  going  to  tell  the  captain  I'll  not  stay 
on  this  boat  if  he  doesn't  slow  down.  This  pace  is 
scandalous ! " 

On  lunged  the  steamer,  now  in  uneven  leaps  like  a 
horse  wearying  in  the  race.  Stealing  out  of  the  blue 
gray  of  the  horizon  peeped  the  outlines  of  land,  to  dis 
appear,  again,  as  the  tossing  surf  and  clouding  mists 
concealed  them.  Louder  and  louder  grew  the  denun 
ciations  of  the  passengers  as  the  captain  failed  to  re 
spond  to  their  demands  and  the  steamer  madly  sped  on ! 

"  He  will  burst  the  boilers !  "  said  one. 

"  He  is  drunk !  "  said  another. 

"  He  shall  be  reported!  "  said  a  third. 

Then  came  the  inevitable. 

"  I  smell  smoke !  My  God,  the  boat  is  afire !  "  The 
company  became  a  frantic  mob,  a  seething  mass  of 
unrestrained  humanity  as  wild  and  relentless  as  the 
fire  and  water  they  so  madly  feared. 

Underneath  the  hideous  obligate  of  curses,  screams 
and  groans,  above  the  double  bass  of  the  ocean's  relent 
less  roar,  sounded  the  steady  pumping  of  the  engines, 
their  motif  translated  to  the  ears  of  terror  that  now 
heard  it,  as  an  herculean  struggle  for  life. 

After  a  few  moments,  the  captain  held  them  together 
with  the  baton  of  his  will,  swaying  these  undisciplined 
or  unleashed  minds  to  the  theme  of  his  own,  which 
was,  safety,  through  calm.  Quietly,  he  told  them  how, 
unknown  to  them,  with  hatches  down,  keeping  the 


The  House  of  Landell  289 

flames  in  check,  he  had  been  racing  for  land  through 
many  hours. 

Grace  had  run  to  Jenkins'  stateroom,  where  he  lay 
in  the  throes  of  his  debauch. 

"  Get  up,  Jack,  and  go  on  deck  with  me,"  she 
pleaded. 

"  Rheumatism  too  bad,  Grade."  He  stirred  feebly, 
then  settled  back. 

"  Come,  Jack !  "  she  insisted. 

"I  can't!" 

"You  shall,  Jack!    Come!" 

She  took  his  arm  and  tried  to  draw  him  to  his  feet. 

"  Leave  me  'lone ! "  he  snarled,  then,  apologetically, 
"  'Scuse  me,  Gracie,  rheumatism  too  bad,  dear !  " 

Frenzied,  she  flew  back  to  Tom. 

"  I  can't  make  Jack  come  up  on  deck !  It's  his 
rheumatism,  poor  fellow !  " 

The  moments  were  passing.  The  insistent,  pungent 
odor  of  the  burning  cotton  grew  more  apparent.  The 
pumps  were  strained  to  the  utmost — one  was  already 
disabled,  but  still  in  use.  The  sails  were  spread;  the 
great  funnels  belched  forth  dense  volumes  of  smoke; 
and  the  captain,  on  the  hurricane  deck,  looked  over 
the  seething  spume  of  waters — to  life? — or  death? 

Tom  and  the  Major  had  gone  to  Jenkins'  stateroom. 

Words  failed  to  rouse  the  man  to  action,  and,  to 
gether  they  dragged  him  to  the  gunwale,  where  the 
ship's  load,  awaiting  the  captain's  orders,  were  so 
grouped  as  to  prevent  the  careening  of  the  vessel. 

Then  through  every  stateroom  and  salon  came  the 
call  of  the  stewards. 

"On  deck!    On  deck  !" 

Each  went  to  his  appointed  place  in  the  boats.  There 
was  no  halt  until  it  came  to  Grace. 

"  I  shall  wait  for  my  husband,"  she  declared. 

She  had  her  way  and  the  other  women  surged  into 


290  The  House  of  Landell 

the  life-boats,  leaving  her  with  the  men  whispering 
over  and  over  to  herself, 

"  If  I  die,  Horace  Vernon,  I'll  die  true  to  the  little 
good  you  saw  in  me,  and  loved !  " 

"Ready!"  called  the  mate  to  her.  "We'll  send 
your  husband  after  you." 

Grace  responded  to  the  summons.  Her  husband 
was  bestowed  safely  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat.  Tom 
and  the  Major  were  about  to  follow,  when,  with  an  un 
certain  lurch,  Jack  Jenkins  struggled  to  his  feet,  and 
pitched,  headlong,  overboard. 

"  Jump  for  your  lives,"  shouted  the  mate.  "  The 
fire  is  coming  through !  " 

The  two  men  sprang  surely  into  the  boat  just  as  a 
snaky  tongue  of  flame  licked  its  way  through  the  deck 
where  they  had  stood. 

Meanwhile,  Jack  Jenkins  had  floated  upon  an  out 
going  wave  toward  a  grave  in  the  abysmal  waters. 
Motionless,  in  his  maudlin  state,  he  lay  on  its  crest.  As 
Tom  and  the  Major  landed  in  the  centre  of  the  boat, 
the  ceaseless  undulation  of  the  mighty  ocean  rolled  the 
billow,  with  its  living  freight,  in  their  direction.  The 
boat,  tossing  and  dipping,  careened  toward  the  ap 
proaching  raft  fashioned  not  by  mortal  hands,  wafting 
back  to  safety  this  plaything  of  destiny.  With  a  sturdy 
twist  of  the  arm,  a  sailor  caught  the  almost  inert  mass 
and  flung  it,  drenched,  but  otherwise  unhurt,  into  the 
bottom  of  the  craft.  Then  the  boat  pushed  off,  and 
swept  toward  shore,  with  scorching  flames  bursting 
forth  behind  it,  in  glorious  and  horrible  brilliance. 

With  the  mutual  errand  of  greeting  the  travelers, 
Agnes  and  Mrs.  Lavelle  had  met  upon  the  wharf. 
Hand  tightly  grasped  in  hand,  together  they  watched 
the  awful  display,  as  mass  after  mass  of  blazing  flakes 
shot  into  the  air  and  dropped  hissing  in  the  sea.  After 


The  House  of  Landell  291 

moments  which  seemed  a  lifetime  they  discerned  tiny 
specks  detaching  themselves  from  the  pall  that  lay 
dense  upon  the  horizon,  and  soon  they  distinguished 
these  as  heavily-laden  boats.  Revenue  cutters,  as  close 
as  they  dared  venture,  were  waiting  to  render  aid.  As 
Agnes  stood,  every  nerve  strained,  a  sense  of  peace 
stole  in  upon  her  consciousness,  releasing  the  tension 
of  her  fear  and  impressing  her  with  the  tenderness 
and  protection  of  its  ministry.  With  her  realization 
of  its  unfoldment,  vision  seemed  extended  beyond  the 
opaqueness  and  the  struggling  of  the  present.  Memory 
held  before  her  the  picture  of  months  ago — Tom,  un 
afraid,  coming,  unscathed,  from  clouds  of  smoke  and 
flame.  She  turned  to  Mrs.  Lavelle. 

"  Do  not  fear."  All  her  terror  gone,  she  transmitted 
her  assurance  to  her  friend.  "  There  is  no  danger  for 
our  loved  ones." 

As  she  spoke,  great  columns  of  flame  shot  skyward 
from  the  nebulous  mass,  and  with  a  series  of  detona 
tions,  stunning,  even  across  the  great  expanse,  the 
steamer  plunged  beneath  the  wave,  and  only  a  swirl 
of  waters  bubbled  where  a  proud  ship  had  queened  it 
o'er  the  deep. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

"  One  ought  neither  to  laugh,  nor  weep  at,  exalt, 
nor  curse  a  human  being's  actions;  but  only  try  to 
understand  them." 

Ellen  Key. 

ABOUT  a  month  after  Tom's  return  from  his  South 
ern  trip,  Agnes  was  sitting  with  her  mother  in  the 
large  upper  hall  overlooking  the  avenue  leading  from 
the  road,  when  she  saw  him  coming  toward  the  house 
driving  handsome  Guy,  the  mate  to  the  lamented 
Prince.  A  figure  beside  him  attracted  her  curiosity 
and  she  stepped  to  the  oriel,  which  was  open,  and 
watched  them  until  under  the  porte  cochere.  A  mo 
ment  later,  she  and  her  mother  appeared  at  the  en 
trance  to  greet  the  newcomers. 

The  figure  Agnes  had  seen  sitting  beside  Tom  was 
a  wisp  of  humanity,  perhaps  about  twelve,  though  the 
wizened  face  and  frail  physique  afforded  no  accurate 
register  of  age.  The  shape  of  his  head  was  concealed 
by  a  shock  of  hair,  no  two  strands  of  which  seemed 
inclined  to  lie  in  the  same  direction.  The  eyes  were 
frightened,  the  skin  was  sallow.  More  than  that  one 
could  not  see,  for  the  child  was  almost  hidden  behind 
a  violin  he  was  hugging  to  his  bosom. 

Tom  was  standing  by  the  trap,  urging  the  little 
fellow  to  descend. 

"  Hop  out,  Hi-Timmy  Tidmouse,"  he  was  saying, 
"  I  will  help  you." 

The  boy  met  Tom's  offer  with  a  scowl  and,  for  reply, 
clutched  his  instrument  the  tighter. 

292 


The  House  of  Landell  293 

"  Very  well,  clamber  along  by  yourself,  if  you  pre 
fer.  Surely,  you  don't  think  I  would  touch  your  pre 
cious  fiddle,  do  you  ?  " 

Without  a  word,  the  boy  turned,  balanced  his  trea 
sure  on  the  floor  of  the  cart,  backed  away  from  it  and 
stood,  presently,  upon  the  gravel;  then,  after  labo 
riously  climbing  to  the  top  step,  he  sat  down  and  laid 
the  violin  across  his  knee,  his  every  movement  betray 
ing  distrust  and  fear. 

"  Timmy  Tidmouse  has  come  to  see  our  musical  in 
struments,"  Tom  turned  to  his  mother  and  sister  as 
they  stood  in  the  hall,  beautiful  enough,  both  of  them, 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  most  inattentive  little 
waif.  "I  must  introduce  him  properly,  mustn't  I! 
Hi-Timmy  Tidmouse  is  my  chum  name  for  Alexander 
Steny,  a  great  friend  of  Dr.  Wehr's  and  mine." 

The  boy  ignored  this  good-natured  attempt  to  make 
him  feel  at  ease.  Not  the  quiver  of  an  eyelash  be 
trayed  that  he  heard. 

"  Won't  you  speak  to  my  mother  and  sister  ?  Well, 
next  time!  What  do  you  say  to  something  to  eat? 
Shall  he  go  in  with  us,  mother?  Come  on,  Hi- 
Timmy,"  adding,  inconsiderately,  "  It  is  part  of  a  plan 
for  awakening  latent  centres  and  building  new  tissues 
— in  short,  for  unfolding  mind  to  the  point  of  demon 
strating  moral  qualities.  These,  in  turn,  will  become 
incorporate  expressions,  through  finer  bodies." 

"  Some  cells  you  consider  latent  may  be  more  awake 
than  you  realize,"  said  Mrs.  Landell,  meaningly. 
"  Yes,  come  in  to  luncheon,  Hi-Timmy.  It  has  been 
announced." 

The  boy  did  not  move  until  Tom  started  into  the 
house;  then  he  followed,  slowly.  As  a  few  minutes 
later  they  all  entered  the  dining-room,  he  still  clutched 
his  violin. 

"  Shall  we  put  your  pet  here  by  the  wall  ? "    Tom 


294  The  House  of  Landell 

made  a  move  to  take  Hi-Timmy's  instrument ;  but  the 
child  only  grasped  it  more  tightly.  "  It  must  be  taken 
care  of  while  you  are  eating.  You  can't  hold  your 
knife  and  fork  and  that  big  thing." 

This  remark  impelled  attention.  A  glimmer  of  in 
telligence  flickered  in  his  eyes.  He  seemed  to  be  puz 
zling  the  matter  out.  Finally,  he  transferred  the  pre 
cious  violin  to  one  hand,  while,  with  the  other,  he  as 
sisted  himself  to  a  chair.  Sitting  sideways,  he  be 
stowed  the  object  of  his  affection  between  his  knees, 
gripping  it  with  a  rigidity  that  stiffened  his  emaciated 
little  body. 

Tom  said  nothing.  He  drew  a  ball  of  twine  from 
his  pocket.  Hi-Timmy  espied  it  and,  reaching  for 
ward,  took  it  from  Tom's  unresisting  hand.  Then  the 
dazed  look  again  came  over  the  tired  little  face. 

'  You  use  your  knife  and  fork  so  beautifully,"  en 
couraged  Tom.  "  There  are  such  good  things  to  eat." 

Hi-Timmy  looked  at  the  cord,  then  at  the  violin. 
He  left  the  chair  and  put  the  treasure  upon  it.  He 
saw,  at  once,  this  would  not  do.  At  the  same  time,  he 
raised  his  head,  and  his  dilating  nostrils  inhaled  the 
odor  of  the  coming  meal.  Hunger  acted  as  impetus  to 
invention.  He  walked  behind  the  chair,  and,  balancing 
his  violin  against  it,  tied  it  to  the  leg.  Looping  the 
string,  he  put  it  over  his  head,  clambered  carefully 
on  to  the  chair,  then  said,  dully, 

"  I'm  hungry.     Gimme  something  to  eat." 

He  used  his  soup  spoon  surprisingly  well,  and  the 
bowing  of  his  knife  and  fork  was  good  for  so  uncouth 
a  lad.  It  could  well  be  called  bowing,  for  the  use  of 
the  arms  and  the  muscles  beneath  the  shoulder  blades, 
trained  by  his  study  of  the  violin,  were  full  of  a  grow 
ing  grace  seeming  to  belong  to  a  different  evolution 
from  that  of  the  rest  of  the  boy. 

No  one  disturbed  him  as  he  ate  greedily.     Tom 


The  House  of  Landell  295 

longed  to  extend  his  explanation  of  the  plan  for  the 
boy's  unfoldment  by  the  building  of  brain  tissue 
through  the  use  of  the  hands  and  the  developing  of 
the  sound  centres,  and  to  point  out  to  his  mother  that, 
already,  the  method  of  procedure  had  changed  the  shape 
of  the  child's  head  in  the  motion  and  music  areas ;  but 
he  contented  himself  with  formulating  statements,  for 
her  further  enlightenment,  concerning  this  child  whom 
Dr.  Wehr,  with  infinite  tenderness  and  care,  was  mind- 
building  into  a  man. 

"  Now,  let  us  see  the  instruments,"  said  Mrs.  Lan 
dell,  as,  luncheon  over,  she  led  the  way  to  the  music 
room. 

There  were  two  pianos,  a  guitar,  a  mandolin,  a  'cello 
and  a  violin.  Hi-Timmy  knew  what  they  were,  for  he 
had  seen  such  before.  He  went  up  to  each  and  touched 
it  gently.  As  he  was  doing  this,  a  low  sweet  sound 
echoed  in  quivering  cadence  on  the  air.  Then  came  a 
harmony  of  response  like  the  summer  wind  whispering 
in  some  mountain  canyon;  like  the  distant  murmur 
of  a  waterfall;  like  notes  of  melody  floating  in  wood 
land  depths;  the  one  answering  call  of  a  mocking-bird 
among  deep  and  lustrous  foliage  beneath  which  are 
soft  green  rushes  and  the  sheen  of  still  waters;  a  sound 
like  the  moaning  of  winds  across  the  hilltops  when  the 
storm  is  near;  a  cry,  as  of  some  imprisoned  soul, 
moaning,  pitifully,  to  be  set  free  from  the  bondage 
of  isolation  and  desolation  and  linked  with  the  heart 
of  humanity.  It  seemed  as  if  the  great  spirit  within 
the  sound  were  reaching  out  to  all  created  things,  hold 
ing  everything  in  its  embrace;  quivering  with  their 
sorrows;  radiating  with  their  joys;  and  gathering  all 
to  its  great  soul. 

The  boy  stood  motionless.  It  was  music,  he  knew. 
Music!  His  heart  told  him  that!  His  every  nerve 
and  sinew  were  alive  and  trembling  with  the  wonder 


296  The  House  of  Landell 

of  it.  Whence  came  it !  Never  had  he  heard  its  like 
before!  Often,  his  violin  had  cried  to  him,  as  if  try 
ing  to  catch  and  fix  the  shadowy  dreams  of  his  imag 
ination  or  memory;  but  this  reverberated  through  his 
being;  swept  in  waves  of  sound  from  head  to  feet,  and 
woke  still  valleys  of  the  soul  that  never  would  be 
silent  or  wholly  in  shadow  again;  spoke  to  something 
inside  him  and  made  him  long  to  live  and  be. 

"  Where  is  it  ?  "  he  whispered.  He  looked  about 
him  wildly,  passionately. 

Agnes  was  playing  on  a  harp.  Her  delicate 
draperies  fell  gracefully  about  the  golden  base;  her 
supple  fingers  summoned  magical  harmonies  through 
her  love  for  the  thought  those  vibrant  strings  conveyed 
to  her  welcoming  ear.  Pausing  an  instant,  he  sped 
across  the  room,  threw  his  arms  about  the  instrument 
and  fell  sobbing  at  her  feet. 

After  a  while,  his  weeping  ceased.  He  raised  his 
head. 

"  Make  the  music  come  again,  lady,"  he  pleaded, 
with  bated  breath,  "  make  the  music  come  again." 

She  began  again,  and  the  air  about  him  seemed  to 
dance  with  melody,  the  being  of  him  to  sway  with 
sound. 

She  took  him  to  the  organ  and  let  him  feel  the 
keys  lift  to  the  wind  of  the  great  pipes;  showed  him 
how  to  pull  out  the  stops  and  make  the  instrument 
tremble  as  he  trod  the  pedals  to  suit  his  fancy — now 
making  a  fierce  jumble  of  sound,  like  the  noise  of 
many  waters;  now  daintily  picking  out  a  key  and  lis 
tening  to  its  message.  She  let  him  feel  the  rush  of 
wind  upon  his  hand  as  she  put  on  the  swell,  and 
startled  him  a  little  when  the  vox  humana  spoke  from 
out  this  massive  box  of  mysteries. 

Next  she  took  him  to  one  of  the  pianos — a  Steinway 
— and  showed  him  the  wonderful  arrangement  of  the 


The  House  of  Landell  297 

strings,  told  him  to  follow  with  his  heart,  the  sound 
they  made  as  she  caressed  the  keys  with  skillful  and 
loving  fingers;  bade  him  hear  each  tone  as  it  leapt  to 
its  third,  its  fifth,  its  seventh,  the  singing  overtone 
gathering  all  and  moving  on  and  out  into  the  sunshine 
of  the  clear,  crisp  air.  His  hands  reached  forward  to 
act — to  do  their  part  in  helping  make  brain  tissue  over 
which  the  awakened  self  soon  would  recognize  con 
structive  power.  The  lethargy  lifted  from  his  face. 
For  the  time,  at  least,  he  seemed  to  feel  himself  a 
living  soul. 

"  Let  us  go  into  the  garden,"  said  Tom.  "  I  want 
to  show  you  some  things  I  keep  out  there.  Will  you 
take  your  violin  or  leave  it  here  ?  " 

"  I'll  leave  it."  He  waved  his  hand  toward  the  in 
struments,  in  whose  spirit  of  comradeship,  courage, 
and  understanding,  he  had  come  to  trust. 

They  reached  the  summer  house  through  gardens 
of  sweet  flowers.  Tom  showed  the  manikins,  of  which 
he  was  so  proud,  and  the  skeletons,  of  which,  at  first 
Hi-Timmy  was  very  shy.  After  a  while,  the  boy  was 
persuaded,  though  gingerly,  to  touch  a  skull. 

Tom  opened  the  head  of  one  of  the  manikins  and 
showed  the  little  fellow  the  brain,  and  told  him  a  bit 
about  the  wonders  of  its  unfoldment. 

"  You  saw  the  keyboard  of  the  piano  ?  "  he  ques 
tioned.  When  Hi-Timmy  nodded  affirmatively,  Tom 
showed  him,  first  by  the  manikin,  and  then  by  means 
of  pictures,  the  location  of  the  wonderful  sounding- 
board  within  the  human  body,  watching  to  see  if  the 
mind  remained  awake.  It  did.  It  was  taking  in,  as 
never  before,  what  he  was  saying. 

"  Here,  Hi-Timmy,  only  four  thousand  times  smaller 
than  this  picture  shows  it  to  be,  at  what  is  called  the 
middle  ear,  is  a  piano-forte  keyboard.  Here  are  both 
tlie  long  and  the  short  keys.  This  keyboard  floats  on 


298  The  House  of  Landell 

a  little  lake  we  call  nerve  fluid — that  is  something  that 
flows,  you  know.  Listen." 

He  repeated  slowly, 

"  '  This  tiny  bit  of  mechanism  represents  the  mind's 
registry  and  use  of  the  tonality  of  ihe  scale.'  That  is 
too  much  for  you  to  understand,  now;  but  remember 
this: — You  have  music  in  your  soul  and  you  are  the 
one  to  make  it  speak  and  do  good  to  the  world,  as  it 
has  done  you  good  this  afternoon.  You  can  send  any 
strain  of  thought  singing  through  you,  until  we  can 
see  as  well  as  hear  what  you  are  thinking.  '  To  paint 
a  picture  well  is  to  paint  it  according  to  the  waves  of 
sound.  Unless  it  can  be  transposed  from  color  into 
music,  it  has  not  the  essentials  of  true  art.'  Let  this 
mean  to  you,  that  everything  you  learn  you  can  put  to 
use  in  many  ways,  and  make  many  persons  happy." 

Hi-Timmy  smiled  as  if  the  depths  of  him  had  come 
into  direct  comprehension  of  what  Tom  meant,  if  not 
of  what  he  said.  It  was  the  first  real  heartfelt  smile 
Tom  had  seen  upon  the  boy's  face  during  four  years 
of  casual  acquaintance,  and  a  year  or  more  intimate 
knowledge  of  him  in  Dr.  Wehr's  school  for  the  up 
building  of  children's  bodies  through  mind. 

"  I  wish  the  doctor  had  seen  that  awakening  of  the 
soul's  expression,"  Tom  said  to  his  mother  and  sister 
after  his  return  from  taking  the  child  back  to  Dr. 
Wehr.  "  The  blessed  man  has  been  five  years  coaxing 
that  puny  seed  to  grow.  Its  roots  must  be  strong,  so 
I  am  hoping  that,  from  now  on,  its  normal  growth  will 
be  what,  to  the  uninitiated,  may  seem  phenomenal." 

"Tell  us  about  the  little  fellow?"  questioned  his 
mother. 

"  When  the  doctor  first  became  interested  in  him, 
he  seemed  hopelessly  wrecked  by  a  series  of  terrible 
shocks.  He  was  a  travesty  of  what  he  is  to-day — bred 
in  stark,  poisoning  fear.  We  tried  to  stimulate  his 


The  House  of  Landell  299 

feeble  circulation,  not  with  drugs  but  with  joy — or,  at 
least,  interest.  We  found  no  response,  and  began  to 
question  if  there  were  any  joy  cells  to  waken.  One 
day,  a  violin  in  the  room  where  the  boy  was,  fell  to 
the  floor.  The  whirring  strings,  spurred  to  motion 
by  the  fall,  seemed  to  stir  a  corresponding  motion 
within  him. :  The  doctor  saw  it.  It  gave  him  a  clue  for 
action.  He  provided  Hi-Timmy  with  the  most  com 
prehending  teacher  he  could  find,  and  the  results  have 
been  illuminating,  not  in  the  lines  of  musicianship  but 
in  coordinating  the  boy  within  himself." 

"  It  is  plain  he  adores  his  instrument,"  said  Agnes. 
"  After  the  exhibition  at  the  lunch  table  I  was  sur 
prised  that  he  allowed  it  out  of  his  sight." 

"  Yes,  he  loves  his  violin.  He  has  feared  constantly 
for  its  safety  since  some  boys  teased  him  by  trying  to 
steal  it.  This  afternoon,  his  idea  of  external  rela 
tionships  seems  to  have  become  more  definite  than 
ever  before.  Now,  through  normal  means,  we  shall 
work  to  introduce  a  consciousness  of  coordination  of, 
as  well  as  cooperation  with,  each  truth  as  he  perceives 
it." 

"  That  is  no  easy  task  with  the  average  child,"  said 
Mrs.  Landell,  thoughtfully.  "  But  with  such  an  one 
— perhaps  easier,  after  all,  than  with  one  bound  by  tra 
dition.  Bring  the  little  fellow  here  as  often  as  you 
please." 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

"  Thou  smilest  at  the  child  that  crieth  for  his  toys, 
Are  they  less  toys,  old  man,  which  cause  thy 
griefs  and  joys?  " 

The  Cherubic  Pilgrim. 

THE  quality  of  the  groups  that  came  from  the  chaste 
little  temple  on  the  hill  was  distinctly  finer,  even  in  the 
not-so-many  months  intervening  between  this  evening 
and  the  one  when  Agnes'  heart  was  so  disturbed  by 
her  sense  of  discoordination.  There  was  a  virility  in 
their  step,  a  ring  in  the  voice  and  a  directness  in  the 
eye  and  the  bearing  that  spoke  well  for  the  acceptance 
of  the  truths  Dr.  Wehr  came  week  after  week  to  teach. 
Philip  Herman  lived  in  the  holy  attitude  of  expressing, 
despite  the  miasma  that  his  mind,  again  and  anon, 
would  draw  from  the  swamp  lands  of  discouragement 
and  disaster,  to  inhibit  his  vision  and  cloak  him  with 
its  clammy  chill.  One  by  one,  some  recluse  who 
hitherto  had  tried  in  vain  to  strike  a  consonant  chord 
with  his  fellows  through  the  organized  religious  bodies 
of  the  town  crept  forth  to  join  his  melody  of  redemp 
tion  with  that  of  the  redeemed  souls  whose  call  was, 
'  Onward  Sons  of  Morning.'  Mind  joined  with  mind, 
without  distinction  of  rank.  The  educated  were  find 
ing  in  the  original  deductions  of  the  uneducated  the 
salt  that  gave  savor  to  the  food  of  their  minds  and 
warmed  the  chill  of  the  learning  that  smelt  only  of 
tomes  in  academic  libraries.  The  uneducated  were 
learning  from  breathing  human  mortals  the  warmth 
and  life  of  culture,  and  the  idea  of  cooperation  was 
rising  in  their  midst,  upon  which  was  to  be  born  a  new 

300 


The  House  of  Landell  301 

generation  of  nobility  and  intrinsic  worth,  material, 
mental  and  spiritually  moral. 

Mrs.  Bryce  and  Mrs.  Burton  had  left  the  lecture 
room  a  little  in  advance  of  Agnes;  but  waited  outside 
for  the  word  they  always  loved  to  have  with  her. 

"  I  am  just  obliged  to  get  light  on  what  Dr.  Wehr 
said  about .  transmuting  ideas  into  ideals,"  said  Mrs. 
Bryce.  "1  know  Agnes  can  help  me.  I  want  to  be 
ready  for  John  to-night.  He  said  that  a  man  on  the 
train  asked  him  if  the  church  was  turning  into  a  sana 
torium  to  save  its  skin." 

"  I  didn't  understand  about  this  mixing  of  health 
and  religion,  myself,  at  first,"  returned  Mrs.  Burton, 
"  I  do  now,  though.  You  can't  separate  them  if  you 
understand  their  meaning  right — that  is,  if  health 
means  wholeness  in  all  states  of  consciousness." 

By  this  time  the  Landells  and  Dr.  Wehr,  with 
Marian  Fosby,  John  McBarr  and  Philip  Herman  had 
joined  them.  They  strolled  along  in  the  free  and  easy 
manner  of  suburbanites. 

"  Come  here,  Tom,"  said  Mrs.  Burton  in  an  aside. 
"  Explain  things  to  us.  Dr.  Wehr  was  clear  enough, 
but  it  takes  time  to  digest  it  all." 

"  Or  recognition,"  responded  Tom.  "  Did  you  ever 
think  of  that?  Not  time,  but  recognition !  What  is  it 
you  want  to  unravel?  " 

"  He  said  that  what  is  called  flesh  and  blood  are 
really  phases  of  qualities  or  spiritual  attributes.  I 
didn't  believe  this  at  first.  I  do  now.  I  see  it  verified 
daily." 

"  You  see  you  don't  need  me  to  explain." 

"  Well,  then,  see  if  you  think  I  do  understand.  The 
next  point  I  took  in — partially,  anyway — was  that  law 
is  the  statement  of  the  processes  of  discovering;  un 
covering,  placing  in  new  lights ;  building,  upon  old  find 
ings,  new  interpretations  of  action,  according  to  the 


302  The  House  of  Landell 

different  states  of  consciousness  with  which  the  mind 
views  them.  The  reality  of  law  exists  in  its  expres 
sion  through  our  lives,  not  in  making  it  an  axiom, 
only."  Mrs.  Bryce  was  a  thinker,  though,  according 
to  academic  traditions,  not  what  is  generally  called 
educated.  "  But  right  here,"  she  continued,  "  I  did 
not  get  at  his  method  of  making  it  a  living  expression 
instead  of  axiomatic." 

'  You  understand,  do  you  not,  that  discriminative 
action  of  mind  wakens  functions  of  brain  and  makes 
more  alert  those  already  in  use  ?  As  we  coordinate  this 
brain  action,  not  in  philosophizing  or  dreaming  ab 
stractly,  but  in  living  the  life,  we  find  mind,  body  and 
spirit  expressing  our  thoughts  in  harmony  with  each 
other  as  well  as  with  the  active  thought  of  others.  We 
find  the  world  larger  than  we  thought,  or,  as  St.  Paul 
says,  '  I  am  not  in  my  flesh,  my  flesh  is  in  me.'  That 
is,  our  consciousness  unfolds  to  us  the  possibilities  of 
our  souls, — Dr.  Wehr,  come  talk  to  these  intelligent 
listeners  of  yours."  Tom  gave  way  to  the  lecturer  and 
fell  behind. 

"  We  all  want  to  see  into  the  universe,  instead  of 
living  on  the  surface  of  '  a  daily  grind,'  said  Dr.  Wehr 
companionably.  "  We  want  to  glorify  daily  events 
with  the  light  of  understanding,  as  we  wait  for  the 
sun  to  show  us  the  dust  in  unswept  rooms  or  to  help 
us  find  the  weeds  about  the  roots  of  our  cherished 
plants.  There  are  so  many  figures  of  speech  to  be  used 
in  explanation,  that  I  may  mix  metaphors.  To  me, 
the  opening  up  of  consciousness — which  is  a  state  of 
knowing — is  like  entering  room  after  room  of  a  house 
filled  with  treasures." 

'  That  is  a  splendid  way  of  explaining  to  us  house 
keepers,"  said  Mrs.  Bryce,  happily. 

"  Some  scientists  speak  of  the  functions  of  the  body 
and  of  functioning  qualities  in  certain  parts  thereof. 


The  House  01  Landell  303 

As  consciousness  extends,  they  learn  that  qualities 
are  functioned  in  our  beings  and,  finally,  that  they 
function  in  Being.  One  state  of  consciousness  recog 
nizes  us  as  physical  organisms  made  of  tissues  and  of 
cells;  another  state  of  consciousness  perceives  that 
these  tissues  and  cells  are  really  qualities  formed  of 
our  past  discriminative  actions,  transformed  by  the 
renewing  of  the  mind.  This  is  true  transmutation. 
We  learn  that  physical  sight  sees  nothing  nor  is  the 
physical  brain  more  than  the  substance  such  as  one 
buys  from  the  butcher  for  the  breakfast  table." 

"  That  explains  the  term — continuity  of  life — to 
me,"  said  Marian  thoughtfully. 

"  So  it  does  to  me.  To  some  states  of  consciousness, 
body  is  matter  only,  a  strange  rending  called  death 
tearing  us  from  all  we  are  and  were  and  plunging  us 
into  what  may  or  may  not  be.  To  other  states,  we 
are  thought,  plastic,  not  static,  always  responding  to 
the  moving  forces  of  life,  not  as  a  mass,  but  according 
to  the  inherent  choice  of  every  part,  moving  at  different 
rates  of  aspiration  and  unfolding  consciousness  at 
different  periods  of  what  we  call  time.  The  soul  never 
is  separated  from  an  embodiment  which  is  the  manifest 
gauge  of  what  it  embodies.  There  was  no  mystery 
in  Jesus'  death.  There  was  no  death.  The  soldiers 
could  not  find  the  body,  not  because  it  had  been  spirited 
away  by  friends;  not  because  He  was  a  deceiver.  It 
was  because  He  expressed  a  complete  unifying  with 
Universal  Consciousness,  and  the  rate  and  quality  of 
aspiration  throughout  His  being  were  synchronous. 
With  this  understanding  of  life,  the  noble  love  of  one 
state  of  consciousness  becomes  the  noble  life  of  the 
succeeding  one." 

"  I  don't  see  how  to  realize  this  consciously,"  said 
Marian. 

"Know  that  creative  energy  manifests  in  us  and 


304  The  House  of  Landell 

through  us.  Teach  it  that  it  is  functioned  within  us, 
not  for  the  generation  of  children  alone,  but  for 
achievement  in  the  arts  and  sciences  and  noble  deeds. 
Then,  Christians  no  longer  will  go  about  with  wings 
spread  but  too  devitalized  to  fly.  We  shall  express  life 
in  finer  quality  for  ourselves  and  for  the  coming  race 
beings  akin  to  gods.  As  in  physical  unfoldment,  we 
have  passed  the  seeming  immobility  of  the  protoplasm 
and  are  conscious  of  our  flowing  blood,  so  we  shall 
learn  that  we  are  beyond  the  blood  and  lymph  stage, 
transcending  what  physical  sight  can  see,  and  are,  in 
reality,  children  of  light.  What,  in  one  stage  of  our 
enlightenment,  spells  materialism,  in  another  is  ethe- 
rialism,  and  in  another  spiritualization." 

"  How  much  clearer  and  all-compensating  that 
makes  God,"  said  Marian.  "  I  wish  I  knew  the  pro 
cesses." 

"  Will  this  aid  you  ?  Sit  at  ease.  Know  that  you 
are  one  with  the  Infinite  All.  Think  no  more  of  your 
embodiment  than  when  you  are  connected  with  Central 
at  the  telephone.  At  first  you  may  find  difficulty  in 
doing  this;  perseverance,  tranquillity  and  coopera 
tion  accomplish  both.  Decide  on  the  message  you  wish 
to  transmit,  nor  permit  your  intelligence  to  be  lulled, 
either  by  persons  or  conditions.  Consciously  choose 
something  worth  perpetuating  and  vitalize  it  with  de 
sire.  Speak  to  creative  energy;  demand  that  it  give 
you  executive  ability  to  perform;  to  the  love  energy 
that  it  vitalize  you  with  divine  purity  on  all  planes  of 
consciousness;  to  individuality  that  it  rise  and  shine 
with  the  light  of  good  tidings.  This  glorifies  our 
meaning  of  the  phrase,  '  I  have  done  it/ — it  does  not 
mean  yourself  as  a  whole  but  as  part  of  a  perfect  whole. 
With  thought  thus  consciously  and  definitely  directed, 
there  are  transmitted  into  expression  cell-building 


The  House  of  Landell  305 

powers  of  health  and  blessedness,"  concluded  the  Doc 
tor. 

"  That  is  worth  hearing,"  said  Mrs.  Burton  to  Mrs. 
Bryce,  as  the  two  parted  with  the  others  and  went 
their  way.  "  It  is  beautiful  that  God  is  our  mind.  It 
makes  me  feel  like  running  like  a  hart  without  faint 
ing.  I  quote  the  Bible  more  than  I  used  to.  It  means 
something  to  me  now.  Lots  of  it  used  to  seem  like 
nonsense." 

"  I  enjoy  going  to  church  nowadays,"  said  Mrs. 
Bryce,  "  I  get  something  for  every  day's  living." 

"  I  like  to  hear  Tom  Landell  and  Dr.  Wehr  talk 
when  they  come  to  see  little  Alexander  Steny.  He  is 
boarding  with  me  to  get  domesticated,  so  to  speak.  I 
heard  the  Doctor  tell  Tom  that  to  try  to  make  sugges 
tions  to  brain  cells  that  haven't  been  constructed  tends 
to  form  clots  on  the  brain,"  Mrs.  Burton  continued. 
"  You  have  to  wake  up,  mentally,  and  work  out  con 
sciously  and  discriminately  in  some  sort  of  action,  if 
you  want  to  build  brain  cells.  Do  you  know,  they  are 
training  this  child,  part  of  the  time,  as  if  he  were 
blind !  " 

"What's  that  for?" 

"  They  claim  that  his  growth  has  been  by  leaps  and 
bounds  since  he  has  had  to  use  the  motive  vision  back 
of  sight  without  the  aid  of  the  eyes.  I  believe  it,  too, 
for  I  have  a  little  nephew  in  the  school  for  the  blind, 
who  in  seven  months  learned  to  read  with  a  compre 
hension  I  haven't  seen  equalled.  They  blindfold  Alex 
ander,  and  he  walks  and  acts  with  what  the  Doctor 
calls  his  true  vision.  As  for  his  reasoning — in  six 
weeks  he  learned  to  walk  and  find  his  way  without 
fumbling.  There  is  a  wonderful  difference  in  him 
every  way,  though  he  is  a  wild  sort  of  thing. — Good 
heavens,  what  is  he  up  to — just  as  I'm  telling  you  how 
he's  improved !  " 


306  The  House  of  Landell 

A  prolonged  wail  came  from  her  house  as  they  ap 
proached. 

"  What  is  it,  indeed !  "  exclaimed  Mrs.  Bryce. 

"  Alexander  Steny  at  his  violin.  I  can't  endure  the 
noises  he  makes.  It  seems  that  his  love  for  his  violin 
is  the  entering  wedge  to  his  unfolding — if  unfolding 
has  a  wedge.  They  let  him  make  all  the  horrible 
noises  he  wants  to  just  to  train  him  to  get  something 
of  some  sort  out  of  his  exertions.  He  doesn't  seem 
to  care  for  tunes;  but  draws  out  the  most  dreadful 
wails  of  sound  and  says  they  are  things  he's  seen.  He 
must  have  lived  in  an  awful  lot  of  nightmares  if  they 
were  as  terrible  as  that!  Good  night.  I'll  send  the 
pattern  over  in  the  morning." 

Mrs.  Burton  went  into  the  house.  Alexander,  other 
wise,  Hi-Timmy  Tidmouse,  was  perched  on  the  piano 
stool,  his  undecided  hair  pointing,  as  usual,  in  all  di 
rections.  A  piercing  intelligence  shone  from  his  eyes 
with  such  intensity,  it  seemed  to  send  tangible  rays  into 
the  unknown.  His  head  was  bowed  lovingly  to  meet 
the  violin  which  he  had  snuggled  under  his  chin.  He 
had  drawn  an  ottoman  up  to  the  stool  on  which  to 
rest  his  feet,  and,  with  utter  unconcern,  his  boots  were 
planted  on  a  pale  blue  satin  cover  where  were  painted 
extraordinary  pink  roses.  Amy,  the  little  twelve-year 
old  mother  of  this  bespattered  travesty,  sat  in  tears  on 
the  other  side  of  the  room. 

"  He's  spoiled  my  roses!  I  feel  as  if  hornets  were 
stinging  the  inside  of  my  ear,"  she  wailed,  as  her 
mother  appeared. 

"  Shut  up !  "  came  the  ungracious  rejoinder  from  the 
piano  stool.  The  search-light  was  turned  off  in  the  eyes 
that  now  showed  themselves  sullen  and  dull.  Their 
owner  drew  the  bow  passionately  across  the  strings 
and  again  the  search-light  crept  over  the  sea  of  the  un 
known  from  the  wakened  soul  within. 


The  House  of  Landell  307 

It  was  one  note  that  cried  out  in  response  to  the 
short,  sharp  stroke  and  swift  downward  sweep  of  the 
bow. 

"  Stop  fussing  over  those  painted  things  and  I'll  tell 
you  what  these  sounds  mean,"  he  said  with  petulant 
irritation  at  the  child's  tears.  "  This  is  the  way  the 
cars  uster  vgo  smashing  against  the  freight  yards,  and 
this  is  the  way  it  uster  jar  the  house,  so  my  mother 
uster  fall  down  in  fits — leastways,  that  is  what  Dr. 
Wehr  said  was  what  did  it.  The  shock  gave  her  cata- 
flectic  fits —  " 

"  Cataleptic,"  said  Amy,  stifling  her  sobs. 

"  What's  the  difference.    They  was  fits !  " 

"""  You  don't  want  to  give  us  fits,  too,  do  you,  Alex 
ander?"  Mrs.  Burton  said,  cheerily.  "  Show  us  dif 
ferent  notes,  do." 

"  No,  I  won't !  There  wasn't  any  difference  in  what 
I  uster  hear.  It  was  always  the  same,"  cried  the  child, 
and  out  of  his  undeveloped  face  there  loomed  the 
vision  of  a  soul  in  torment,  now  showing  an  angel, 
paralyzed  by  a  horror  of  which  his  soul  never  lost 
sight;  now  seeming  a  mass  of  little  more  than  proto 
plasm;  now  flashing  forth,  not  malignity,  but  undi 
rected  mind  force,  which,  like  the  first  steps  of  a  baby, 
may  result  in  weal  or  woe. 

"  The  long  rush — then  the  awful  shock — and  then 
my  mother  in  fits — all  on  one  note." 

"  But  Alexander,  you  don't  want  to  have  fits,  too ! 
Can't  you  recall  something  happier  about  your 
mother?  "  Mrs.  Burton  folded  her  veil  and  blew  into 
her  gloves,  preparatory  to  laying  them  in  the  desk 
drawer. 

The  boy  drew  the  bow  across  the  string  with  a 
fierceness  that  made  Mrs.  Burton  jump,  while  Amy 
screamed  and  the  baby  waked  and  cried. 

"  Gracious,  Alexander !     All  right,  baby,  mother  is 


308  The  House  of  Landell 

here.  Come  down,  you  sweet  tootsey,  if  you  are 
lonely.  Dear,  mother  must  lock  the  windows  before 
she  goes  up-stairs.  Come,  Alexander,  it  is  time  to  go 
to  bed.  Al-ex-an-der !  Do  make  some  other  sort  of 
noise !  It  sounds  like  somebody  dying !  " 

"  It's  the  way  my  baby  sounded  when  she  pitched 
outer  a  five-story  window.  When  they  picked  her  up, 
she  was  all  dead  and  mashed,  and  this  is  the  way  my 
mother  sounded,  and  this  is  the  way  the  street  sounded, 
I  didn't  sound  at  all !  /  was  still!  I  listened!  " 

It  was  horrible,  how,  in  view  of  the  tenseless,  ex 
pressionless  explanation,  the  wail  of  the  one  note  took 
on  the  heart  of  the  life  which,  through  his  memories, 
had  become  cell  and  tissue  of  the  boy.  To  the  mother, 
the  horror  was  accentuated  through  the  cries  of  her 
own  child,  which,  though  only  the  healthy  bawl  of  a 
four-year-old  baby  howling  because  he  felt  like  it, 
seemed  to  partake  of  the  death  screech  of  the  falling 
infant,  as  portrayed  by  Alexander's  dissociated  tones 
of  voice,  but  unforgettable  agony. 

"  Mother's  coming,  blessed !  Come,  Alexander, 
that's  a  good  boy.  Don't  you  hear  baby  crying?  Let's 
go  up  to  him." 

"  I  want  to  go  to  my  own  baby,"  monotoned  Alex 
ander. 

"  You  can't.     Your  baby's  in  heaven." 

"  I  want  her." 

"  But  dear — yes,  baby,  do  be  still,  mother  will  be 
up  in  a  minute.  Amy,  run  and  see  if  you  can't  quiet 
him.  If  you  can't,  bring  him  down.  Now,  Alexander, 
your  little  sister— 

"  I  don't  want  any  guff !  I  want  my  baby !  She's 
got  hers,  I  want  mine."  He  jerked  his  bow  in  the  di 
rection  of  the  little  girl  fast  disappearing  up  the  stairs. 

"  You'll  see  her  when  you've  learned  to —  " 

"  I  don't  want  to  stop  to  learn !     I  want  her  now ! 


The  House  of  Landell  309 

This  is  the  way  she  screamed,  and  then  came  the 
freight  cars  crashing,  and  then  mother  had  another 
cataflectic  fit—  " 

"  A-lex-an-der !  You  will  be  crazy !  How  do  the 
saws  sound  when  you  are  making  boxes  in  the  car 
pentry  shop  ?  " 

The  expression  of  Alexander's  eyes  changed  slightly. 
He  made  a  rasping  noise  on  the  strings  which  made 
Mrs.  Burton  grit  her  teeth;  but  she  pursued  the  ad 
vantage  she  thought  she  had  gained,  in  changing,  if 
ever  so  little,  for  the  instant,  the  picture  in  the  mind 
that  memory  had  inducted  into  his  blood  and  tissue. 

"  Now  think !  Don't  you  recall  ?  It  was  not  all  on 
one  note.  It  went  up  and  down.  Show  me." 

Alexander's  search-light  went  out  for  a  mental 
vision  of  the  sounds  of  the  saw.  He  had  just  com 
pleted  what  seemed  to  him  a  fair  repetition  of  what 
was  incorporate  in  his  being,  through  memory,  when 
Baby  Burton  toddled  in,  pretty  and  warm  from  his 
nap.  His  cheeks  glowed  with  the  exertion  of  the 
lusty  howling,  which,  now,  in  the  attainment  of  his  de 
sire  to  be  near  his  mother,  and,  primarily,  perhaps, 
with  the  delight  of  having  his  own  way,  dimpled  with 
gleeful  smiles.  His  little  toes  peeped  out  from  under 
his  nightgown  and  his  hands  reached  forward  to  grab 
at  the  violin,  as  he  sped  hilariously  across  the  floor. 

Angrily,  Alexander  jerked  the  violin  away,  trying 
to  draw  it  under  his  body  to  protect  it  from  the  child's 
clutch.  The  sudden  movement  brought  it  against  the 
piano  leg  and  the  delicate  stem  snapped  from  the  body. 

For  an  instant  Alexander  was  motionless ;  then  his 
concentrated  grief  blazed  out.  Seizing  his  idol,  he 
flung  it  hysterically  at  the  child,  missing  his  aim,  and 
it  crashed  through  the  window  just  behind.  Then, 
with  a  howl  of  anguish  that  recalled  to  Mrs.  Burton 
the  pent-up  agony  of  his  recently  voiced  picture,  he 


310  The  House  of  Landell 

dashed  into  the  night.  She  hastened  after  him;  but 
Baby  Burton  yelled  lustily  as  he  witnessed  her  exit. 
Dark  night,  with  the  figure  of  a  rapidly  receding 
child  were  before  her;  a  trembling  little  girl  and  a  cry 
ing  infant  were  behind.  She  turned  back  and  closed 
the  door, 

Tom  Landell  had  reached  home  and  was  deep  in  a 
pile  of  physiologies  and  psychologies  when  the  tele 
phone  interrupted  his  study.  In  response  to  his  hello, 
Amy's  childish  voice,  pitched  high  with  excitement, 
called  loudly, 

"  Mr.  Landell,  Alexander  Steny  is  a-putting  down 
the  street  as  fast  as  he  can  go  and  there  isn't  any  one 
to  catch  him,  'cause  mamma  can't  leave  baby." 

Hanging  up  the  receiver,  he  took  his  hat. 

"  I  am  going  to  hunt  up  Hi-Timmy  Tidmouse, 
mother,"  he  said,  as  he  passed  through  the  hall.  "  He 
has  run  away  from  the  Burtons'." 

Almost  on  the  wave  of  his  good  night,  came  the 
chug  of  his  motor-cycle  as  it  went  speeding  down  the 
street  like  some  strange  bird. 

Suddenly,  from  the  wayside,  there  came  a  cry  of 
terror.  Slowing  down,  he  alighted  to  find  the  source. 

Huddled  amid  the  shrubbery,  in  a  frightened  little 
heap,  he  found  Hi-Timmy. 

"What  is  it!"  he  said  tenderly.  "This  is  your 
friend,  Tom  Landell.  What  is  all  this  about?  " 

"  I  heard  the  smashing  of  the  cars,"  quivered 
Timmy,  crouching  back  into  the  darkness. 

"  It's  my  dreadfully  noisy  machine.''  Tom  drew  the 
little  figure  up,  supporting  it  reassuringly  with  his 
strong  arms.  "  What  do  you  want  to  do?  " 

"  I  want  to  die !  "  shouted  the  child.  "  So's  I  can't 
hear  the  sound  of  the  cars  any  more,  nor  my  baby 
when  she  screamed,  nor  hear  my  mother  in  her  cata- 
flectic  fits !  I  want  to  die !  " 


The  House  of  Landell  311 

"  It  is  a  strange  idea  we  have  about  dying."  Tom 
held  the  little  fellow  close.  "If  you  do  not  want  to 
hear  those  sounds  after  you  are  dead,  as  you  call  it, 
you  must  begin  to  listen  for  something  better  and 
sweeter,  now." 

"  I  can't!  "  he  sobbed  bitterly.  "  So  must  I  always 
hear  it?" 

In  his  agony,  through  some  rift  in  his  ill-structured 
tissues,  there  gleamed  a  nature  so  finely  keyed  that  it 
compelled  the  ricketty  instrument  to  express  him 
through  it. 

It  was  no  time  to  exhort.  Tom  drew  the  child  more 
closely  to  him. 

"  Don't  you  want  to  ride  my  wheel?  " 

He  lifted  him  to  the  seat  of  his  motor-cycle  as  he 
spoke. 

Hi-Timmy  shivered. 

"  Take  me  down !  I'm  afraid  of  the  noise ! 
Quick !  "  he  screamed. 

"  Then  walk  along  beside  me.  I  will  walk,  too,  so 
you  may  not  hear  the  thing  chug.  I  have  the  dearest 
little  spot  you  ever  saw  for  you  to  curl  up  in — just  as 
soft  and  still!  You  can  lie  there  and  sleep  and 
sleep — 

"  I've  smashed  my  violin,"  said  Hi-Timmy  brokenly, 
"  and  I  don't  care  for  anything  else  in  the  world,  but 
it." 

"  Well !    Well !    Don't  you  like  me  ?  " 

Timmy  looked  doubtful. 

"  Nor  the  piano  inside  of  you,  where  the  brain  marks 
down  what  you  hear,  and  that  does  not  let  you  know 
about  anything  you  refuse  to  know  about  or  listen  to  ?  " 

Timmy,  his  storm  spent,  was  too  tired  to  respond, 
and  Tom,  having  telephoned  Mrs.  Burton  of  the  child's 
safety,  took  the  little  fellow  to  his  room  to  sleep  the 
sleep  of  oblivion. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

"  The  secret  of  happiness  is  Joy  in  the  work 
of  our  hands." 

EARLY  the  next  morning,  while  Hi-Timmy  was  still 
asleep,  Tom  sought  Dr.  Wehr  and  laid  the  case  before 
him.  The  wise  philosopher  listened  attentively,  and 
was  silent  for  some  time  after  Tom  had  ceased  speak 
ing. 

"  May  the  cause  of  the  outburst  have  been  the  asso 
ciation  of  ideas  with  a  home,  a  mother  and  a  baby?  " 
he  questioned,  slowly,  aloud.  "  We  must  select  sur 
roundings  with  a  view  to  reforming  and  replacing,  not 
to  the  strengthening  of,  old  memories  and  pictures 
which  are  working  disaster.  I  am  not  sorry  that  the 
violin  is  out  of  commission  for  awhile.  We  raised  him 
out  of  distressing  memories  on  the  wings  of  sound,  but 
he  needs  other  support  now.  Other  centres  of  vision 
must  be  awakened.  It  is  possible  in  a  child  to  change 
completely  the  ruling  elements  of  desire  and  motive 
by  controlling — no,  no,  now  I  am  learning  to  avoid 
that  word — by  cooperating  with — experiences;  and 
by  eliminating,  constructively  withdrawing  the  mind's 
activities  from  consideration  of  undesirable  memories. 
Memory  structure  is  incorporate  through  the  being.  It 
is  improved  or  rebuilt  by  setting  certain  processes  to 
work  and  guiding  others — inducive  of  brain  growth. 
With  new  growth  acquired,  '  new  ideas  dawn  as  sud 
denly  as  lightning  illumines  the  landscape.'  ' 

"  Suppose  I  keep  him  with  me  awhile  ?  My  mother 
is  glad  to  have  him,  and  the  surroundings  and  influ- 

312 


The  House  of  Landell  313 

ences  are  less  like  his  previous  ones  than  may  be  found 
in  a  home  like  the  Burtons'." 

"  Good !  Don't  assume  any  pedagogic  attitude  to 
ward  him,"  he  smiled.  "  Only  we  old  fellows  realize 
how  useless  that  is,  and  how  antagonizing.  Let  him 
be  care-free  and  as  leisurely  as  he  pleases,  providing 
he  does  not  lapse  into  dilatoriness  and  procrastination. 
The  new  fibres  will  incorporate  new  memories,  natu 
rally  and  easily.  Skilfully  check  inaccuracies  or  exag 
gerations  of  expression  without  limiting  the  scope  of 
the  imagination.  I  believe  this  marks  the  path  from 
inspiration  to  aspiration.  Don't  let  the  vision  be  the 
goal  of  your  desire,  however.  The  goal  is  so  far  ahead. 
We  used  to  be  taught  to  keep  the  mind  on  that  and 
groan  over  the  reaching  of  it.  It  is  the  attaining, 
my  boy,  that  should  keep  us  nourished  with  courage. 
When  our  ultimate  arrives,  we  shall  scarcely  know  it. 
It  will  have  come  to  realization  naturally  and  left  us 
the  zest  of  progress  toward  the  new  vision  unfolding 
from  the  old.  Be  discriminative,  not  excessive,  in  his 
exercise.  This  case  interests  me  extremely.  Not  all 
horrors,  formed  on  terrorizing  experiences  and  pictures 
or  visions,  are  as  easily  traced  as  in  Alexander — never 
theless,  they  inhere  in  every  mind." 

Tom  took  the  next  train  out  from  town.  He  found 
Hi-Timmy  moping  in  the  dressing-room  leading  from 
the  bedroom  where  he  had  slept  the  night  before.  It 
was  evident  he  had  been  crying. 

"  What  joy  can  I  find  for  the  little  fellow  that  will 
be  antidote  for  the  poisonous  precipitate  of  sorrow?  " 
he  meditated,  meanwhile  diverting  him  by  his  own 
preparation  for  luncheon.  After  a  while,  Hi-Timmy 
inferred  that  it  would  please  his  friend,  should  he,  also, 
prepare  for  the  meal.  Though  the  following  was  not 
very  accurate,  it  was  accomplished  after  a  fashion. 
Tom  did  not  object  that  the  comb  made  slight  acquain- 


314  The  House  of  Landell 

tance  with  the  unruly  hair.  After  the  child  had  eaten 
a  satisfying  meal,  Tom  took  his  hat. 

"  I  am  going  to  the  woods,  Timmy.  I  found  a  chip 
munk's  nest,  yesterday." 

Timmy  did  not  speak.  His  eyes  looked  as  if  he 
would  like  to  go.  Tom  paused. 

"  Want  to  come  ?  " 

There  was  no  reply;  but  the  boy  moved  slowly  to 
ward  the  door. 

"  May  I  go  ?  "  inquired  Agnes. 

"  Always,  Agnesia,"  and  the  three  struck  into  the 
park  by  a  short  cut. 

The  air  was  soft  and  still  in  the  woods,  and  the 
singing  of  the  hemlocks  made  their  tranquil  compan 
ionship  more  virile  because  it  seemed  to  breathe  life 
more  abundant.  Oh,  it  was  beautiful.  Hi-Timmy 
laid  his  hand  gently  on  a  tree  trunk,  as  the  blind  do. 
He  seemed  to  listen,  rather  than  look,  wonderingly, 
into  the  branches,  as  if  he  expected  to  find  strings  and 
pipes,  as  in  the  musical  instruments  he  had  seen.  At 
length,  he  turned  a  wistful  face  toward  Tom. 

"  If  I  had  my  violin,  I'd  show  you  how  these  sound." 
He  threw  himself  heart-brokenly  upon  the  ground, 
burying  his  face.  After  a  while,  he  looked  up, 

"I've  been  thinking.  Dr.  Wehr  gave  me  that  violin. 
Do  you  suppose  he  would  give  me  another  one?  " 

"  Why  no,"  said  Tom  in  a  matter-of-fact  manner. 
"  He  bought  you  that  one  so  you  could  use  it,  not 
smash  it.  You  did  just  as  you  chose  with  it,  you 
know." 

"  Then  can  I  never  make  pictures  on  a  violin 
again?  " 

"If  you  choose  to  think  up  a  way  to  get  one  for 
yourself,  you  can." 

"  I  don't  know  how." 

"  Tell  me  how  you  broke  yours." 


The  House  of  Landell  315 

Tom's  heart  was  full  of  tenderness  for  the  soul 
looking  out  from  those  frightened  eyes,  seeking, 
though  it  might  not  know  it,  for  more  awareness  of 
its  possibilities.  "  What  did  you  do  that  night,  that 
you  are—  '  he  checked  his  words — "  No,  not  sorry," 
he  said  within  himself,  "  that  is  poison, — I  want  him 
to  feel  only  uplift — oh  for  a  set  of  new  words  not 
steeped  in  the  depressing  gloom  of  man's  half  interpre 
tations  ! — I  mean,  what  happened  just  before  the  violin 
broke?" 

"  I  dug  my  heels  into  that  little  girl's  painting  and 
made  her  cry." 

"  We  never  can  change  that  fact ;  but  can  you  think 
of  a  way  to  help  make  up  to  her  for  what  you  have 
done?" 

"  Not  unless  I  give  her  another —  " 

"  I  will  give  her  one,"  Agnes  interrupted  enthusias 
tically.  "  It  shall  be—  " 

"  Timmy  must  give  with  himself,  not  with  you," 
said  Tom,  meaningly.  "  Now,  Timmy,  how  can  you 
doit?" 

"  I  don't  know,"  helplessly. 

"  Can  you  black  boots?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Supposing  you  do  mine,  at  ten  cents  a  pair,  until 
you  get  money  enough  to  buy  Amy  new  silk  and  paints, 
and  pay  for  three  lessons  for  her.  You  never  can  re 
pay  ;  but  you  can  help  things  go  in  a  happy  way  from 
now  on." 

Agnes  looked  at  the  little  mite.  A  truth  was  re 
vealed  to  her  she  long  had  known  abstractly,  but  for 
the  first  time  realized  she  was  not  personally  demon 
strating.  Through  the  child's  face,  she  saw  he  was 
perceiving  and  embodying  processes  resulting  from 
outside  stimulus  to  brain  centres.  He  was  arranging 
and  organizing  the  plan  of  redemption,  sending  from 


316  The  House  of  Landell 

the  brain  centres  the  impulse  to  do.  Would  this  im 
pulse  travel  from  brain  centre  to  brain  centre,  inducing 
vacuous  longing  and  dreaming,  only ;  from  brain  centre 
to  muscle,  inducing  irresponsible  impulse,  such  as  had 
overcome  him  when  he  had  made  his  wild  venture  at 
ridding  himself  of  interference,  or  could  it  be  trained 
to  will  from  brain  centre  to  brain  centre,  as  well  as 
from  brain  centre  to  muscle,  balancing,  in  him,  plan 
ning  and  execution!  Tom  was  going  to  work  hard 
to  find  out. 

Meanwhile,  Hi-Timmy  had  entered  upon  the  path 
of  perception.  Though  far  from  his  first  offence,  it 
was  the  first  time  he  had  understood.  With  the  revela 
tion  had  come  life  and  enthusiasm.  He  had  not,  as 
Carl  Ewald  has  said,  "  The  black  sting  of  remorse  in 
his  soul  nor  the  black  cockade  of  forgiveness  in  his 
hat." 

"Will  you  help  me  buy  the  stuff?"  There  was  a 
new  light  of  interest  in  his  eyes,  all  anxious,  as  he 
was,  to  atone. 

'  The  satin  ?  Yes,  because  you  wouldn't  know  about 
that ;  but  you  do  know  about  blacking  boots  and  mak 
ing  a  square  deal,  don't  you!  " 

;<  Yes."  Timmy  held  his  head  higher  as  the  thought 
enfibred  him  with  courage,  bringing  him  from  his 
huddled,  stooping  position,  into  the  erectness  of  man. 

'  Then  what  happened?  "  Tom  spoke  in  so  matter- 
of-fact  a  tone  that  Timmy  was  not  depressed,  but 
rather  uplifted  by  it. 

"  After  I  broke  my  violin,  I  got  mad  and  smashed 
it  through  a  window.  I  didn't  go  to  kill  the  baby ;  but 
I  wouldn't  have  minded  if  I  had,  I  was  so  mad." 

Tom  evaded  this  part  of  the  confession.  It  would 
entail  dealing  with  complexities,  the  way  out  of  which 
he  felt  neither  he  nor  Timmy  was  equal  to. 

"  So  you  smashed  the  window !     Mrs.  Burton  is  a 


The  House  of  Landell  317 

poor  woman.  She  cannot  afford  to  pay  for  that  glass ! 
What  will  she  do!" 

"  Couldn't  you  give  me  some  money  to  buy  a  new 
one?" 

"  I  ?  Oh  dear  no !  Why  should  I  give  Mrs.  Bur 
ton  a  window !  You  broke  it,  you  should  replace  it !  " 

"  I  can't  I'd  put  it  back  if  I  knew  how,  but  I  don't." 
He  looked  despairingly  at  Tom,  his  eyes  wistful  and 
sad. 

"  Stand  still,  just  where  you  are.  Think,  way  deep 
down,  how  you  can  get  that  window  mended.  There 
is  a  teacher  inside  of  you." 

Hi-Timmy  stood  still  a  part  of  the  life  which  moves 
in  God.  His  eyes  rolled  vacuously  among  the  trees; 
but  evidently  found  no  answer  there.  His  expression 
changed.  He  was  finding  his  mentor.  In  a  moment, 
his  face  brightened. 

"  Isn't  there  some  one  about  here  who  mends  win 
dows?" 

"  Yes,  there  is  a  very  good  man  in  the  village,  named 
Winters." 

"  Will  you  show  me  how  to  get  him,  or  must  I  do 
that  too?  I  will  black  his  boots  until  I  get  money  to 
pay  him  to  put  it  in." 

"  Two  strokes  and  the  words,  help  me,  left  out,"  Tom 
thought  as  he  shouted  for  joy. 

"  Now  we  will  go  to  the  glazier's — the  man  who 
sets  the  glass," — and  they  started  on  the  pleasant  walk 
to  town,  Timmy  believing  himself  fully  equal  to  meet 
ing  Mr.  Winters.  When  he  did,  however,  his  old  in 
ertia  overcome  him  and  Tom  had  to  explain. 

"  Good-day,  Mr.  Winters,"  was  Tom's  greeting. 
"  Here  is  a  boy  who  has  broken  some  glass  and  wants 
to  put  it  in.  As  he  doesn't  know  how  to  do  it  him 
self,  he  wants  the  next  best  thing, — pay  some  one  who 
does." 


318  The  House  of  Landell 

"  I  can't  "•  — Timmy  forgot  this  was  his  own  sug 
gestion.  "  I  haven't  got  any  money." 

"  You  have  legs,  I  see,"  said  Mr.  Winters.  "  It 
happens  my  horse  has  gone  lame  and  for  the  last  few 
mornings  I  have  had  to  carry  my  materials  to  work. 
I  will  pay  you  twenty-five  cents  each  day  for  the 
present,  to  come  at  six  thirty  in  the  morning  and  stay 
round  awhile,  in  case  I  have  to  send  back  for  anything. 
I  know  the  size  of  Mrs.  Burton's  windows.  Why,  I 
guess  it  will  take  you  about  a  week's  work,  sonny. 
When  it  is  done,  Mrs.  Burton  will  forgive  you  for 
breaking  it." 

"  That  is  the  usual  idea,  Mr.  Winter,  but  honestly, 
do  you  suppose  that  helps  ?  "  interposed  Tom.  "  How 
should  her  attitude  of  mind  avail  against  the  fact  that 
he  has  betrayed  his  trust !  The  point  is  to  make  right 
with  himself  and  receive  the  soul  sunlight  and  air  the 
Great  Heart  gives.  She  may  say  she  forgives  him. 
Of  course,  that  does  her  good  and  in  a  way  makes  him 
happier  as  the  superficial  currents  bathe  him  exte 
riorly;  but  does  it  lift  the  responsibility  from  him,  or 
really  touch  his  character  ?  " 

"That  is  a  question!"  pondered  Mr.  Winters. 
"  That  is  a  question !  " 

"  Perhaps  the  tenderness  of  her  heart  as  she  really 
forgives  will  touch  his  consciousness  and  give  it  the 
spur  of  growth;  perhaps,  it  will  be  a  soporific  to  it.  I 
very  much  wonder  which  it  does,  as  I  look  about  and 
see  that  almost  every  instance  I  recall  of  what  is  called 
forgiveness,  unaccompanied  by  the  insistence  that  the 
atonement  come  from  the  offender  instead  of  the  in 
nocent,  has  resulted  in  the  inhibition  of  the  former.  I 
also  notice  that  the  sense  of  forgiveness  of  others  often 
saddles  a  soul  who  has  atoned  with  the  weight  of  past 
immaturity  that  grows  into  damning  remorse  and  pre- 


The  House  of  Landell  319 

vents  the  currents  of  the  universal  from  playing  and 
breathing  into  all  the  breath  of  life." 

"  We  should  all  be  more  stalwart  if  we  lived  on  that 
basis.  I  know  just  what  you  mean  by  the  weight  of 
the  forgiveness.  The  best  forgiveness  is  to  leave  it 
to  God,  as  you  say."  Mr.  Winter's  ruddy,  sturdy  face 
brightened  as  he  spoke.  "  God  is  too  large  to  keep  in 
mind  against  us  our  action  of  yesterday.  He  is  great 
enough  t:  efface  it  from  our  memories  that  it  may 
grow  in  our  characters." 

The  three  left  tHe  glazier's.  Hi-Timmy's  spine 
straightened  dgain,  not  with  pride  but  with  the  stirring 
of  life  within,  which  had  told  him  how  to  act  with  a 
view  to  upbuilding  what,  in  a  moment  of  rage,  he  had 
torn  down.  When  Mrs.  Burton  met  them  at  the  door, 
it  drooped  again  and  he  hung  the  little  head  that  had 
so  many  states  of  consciousness  to  unfold  before  it 
would  hold  itself  always  courageously  in  appearance 
and  in  truth." 

"  Well,  well,  Alexander,"  she  said,  cheerily.  "  How 
do  you  do !  I  have  made  some  tarts  purposely  for  you. 
Do  you  want  some?  " 

"  I'd  like  them,"  returned  Timmy,  scanning  in  nerv 
ous  haste  every  corner  of  the  room.  When  he  espied 
the  object  of  his  search,  he  ran  to  it  and  hugged  it  in 
his  arms. 

"  Oh,  my  violin,  my  violin,  shall  I  ever  make  sounds 
on  you  again !  "  and  behind  the  instrument  he  burst 
into  tears  which  he  wiped  quickly  away.  "  But  I'll 
have  you  yet,  and  whole." 

"  You  can  think  of  the  beautiful  pictures  you  are 
going  to  make  for  us  when  this  is  mended,"  said  Tom, 
and  having  explained  that  next  morning  early  Timmy 
would  be  there  with  the  glazier  to  set  the  window  pane, 
the  three  returned  to  the  Landells',  Timmy  bearing  his 
violin. 


320  The  House  of  Landell 

When  they  had  reached  home,  Tom  sent  the  boy 
to  prepare  for  dinner,  then  threw  himself  into  a  chair 
and  mopped  his  forehead. 

"  Jupiter,  mother,  how  did  you  bring  up  children ! 
I  thought  I  knew  something  about  child-culture,  from 
being  in  an  institution  with  them;  but  there  you  can 
turn  them  over  to  some  one  else  for  at  least  an  hour 
or  two,  once  in  a  while.  Mothers  have  them  trailing 
after  them  or  before  them  or  alongside  of  them  all  the 
time,  don't  they!  School  training  and  the  real  thing 
is  an  equation.  On  one  side — charts,  a  room  filled 
with  appliances  with  thermometer,  barometer  and  elec 
trical  conditions  and  ideas ;  on  the  other  side  a  big  X. 
I  am  exhausted  with  just  these  few  hours  of  X.  I  am 
as  slimpsy  as  wet  tissue  paper ;  like  Mrs.  Perriwinkle's 
curls  during  dog-days ;  like  a  picnic  crowd  caught  in  a 
shower;  in  short,  my  two  hours'  attempt  to  teach  the 
other  fellow  to  bear  his  own  burden,  instead  of  fol 
lowing  the  line  of  least  resistance  and  doing  it  myself, 
has  resulted  in  making  me  feel  like  a  basket  of  smashed 
eggs — and  I  have  only  just  begun!  " 

With  an  interest  infecting  every  one  in  the  house, 
Hi-Timmy  Tidmouse  rose  the  next  morning.  By  six- 
thirty  he  was  at  Mr.  Winters'  shop,  watching  him  take 
the  shutters  from  the  low  windows,  that,  peeping  some 
three  feet  above  the  sidewalk,  lighted  the  cellar  where 
he  kept  his  paints  and  varnishes.  There  was  a  very 
nice  smell  about  it  all,  Hi-Timmy  thought.  It  re 
minded  him  of  the  woods  where  he  had  straightened 
things  out  the  day  before.  He  put  his  nose  to  the  pail 
to  take  a  deep  breath  of  the  fascinating  mixture,  and 
received  a  big  daub  of  green  paint  on  its  tip.  This 
made  him  smile.  Nothing  in  all  his  short  life  had 
made  him  smile  much  and  he  wondered,  though  prob- 


The  House  of  Landell  321 

ably  unconsciously,  if  waking  up  to  work  out  some 
thing  for  oneself  always  makes  one  feel  alive  inside. 

They  found  Mrs.  Burton  frying  cakes  for  breakfast. 
She  insisted  on  giving  them  some  before  they  began 
work.  The  two  were  nothing  loth. 

"  I've  started  to  buy  you  some  stuff  to  make  you 
a  new  rose  piece,"  Timmy  looked  shyly  at  the  rosy- 
cheeked  little  girl  as  she  helped  him  and  Mr.  Winters 
bountifully  to  the  cakes  her  mother  was  taking  from 
the  griddle.  He  felt  interest  in  her,  now  that  he  was 
trying  to  do  something  to  dissolve  in  her  memory  the 
tears  of  that  horrible  night  when  he  had  made  himself 
and  others  so  unhappy. 

"  Oh,  how  nice  of  you !  "  Amy  colored  with  plea 
sure,  as,  having  put  six  fresh,  hot  cakes  on  Timmy's 
plate,  she  took  some  herself.  "  I  had  worked  so  hard 
on  those  roses,  and  only  got  them  finished  the  day 
before  you — before  they  got  hurt, —  "  politely  refrain 
ing  from  pointing  her  speech  too  incisively  toward 
the  vandal.  "  I  didn't  mind  working  on  them,  but  I 
did  mind  having  them  spoiled." 

"  I  am  to  get  ten  cents  for  every  pair  of  boots  I  black 
for  Mr.  Tom,"  Hi-Timmy's  heart  warmed  more  and 
more  toward  his  little  companion.  "  It  takes  an  awful 
time  to  pay  for  things,  don't  it !  "  thoughtfully. 

"  Lots  longer  than  it  takes  to  smash  'em,"  retorted 
Mrs.  Burton  briskly,  overhearing,  as  she  came  from 
the  stove  with  more  cakes. 

"  Mrs.  Burton,  if  you  give  us  any  more  we  shall  be 
too  full  to  work,  and  we  must  get  at  it,"  said  Mr.  Win 
ters. 

"  I  should  say  you  were  at  it  already,"  Mrs.  Burton 
laughed.  "  How  is  the  old  church  getting  on,  Mr. 
Winters?" 

"  Mrs.  Burton,  I  am  ashamed  to  tell  you."  Mr. 
Winters  laid  down  his  knife  and  fork,  "  I  am  just 


322  The  House  of  Landell 

ashamed  to  tell  you.  We  decent  ones  feel  disgraced  by 
it  all,  and  some  of  us  are  heart-broken.  We  don't  look 
at  it  as  being  the  Lord's  way  of  doing.  I  was  at  that 
meeting  the  night  you  walked  off  with  our  cream.  I 
ain't  saying  it  wasn't  the  thing  to  do.  I  suspicioned 
it  was  at  the  time  and  I  think  so  still.  I  did  hope  that 
what  Mr.  Landell  said  about  cooperating  would  come 
to  pass,  but  it  won't  be  possible,  I  fear,  for  the  mess 
we  are  in  now  is  disgraceful.  I  would  have  gone  with 
you  but  I  thought  my  mother  wouldn't  get  over  it. 
She  would  have,  though.  It  seems  she  wanted  to  go, 
herself,  and  wouldn't  because  of  me.  How  we  do  play 
criss-cross  in  life!  " 

"  Playing  to  persons  instead  of  to  principle,  Mr. 
Herman  says !  " 

"  You  know  that  Mrs.  Bryce's  John  has  followed 
her!" 

"  She  told  me  the  other  day  that  he  had  hardly 
spoken  to  her  for  months  after  she  left  the  church; 
but  that  now,  she  believed  that  the  truth  she  had  dared 
declare  for  God  was  bringing  her  a  husband  in  a  sense 
she  never  had  had  one  before." 

Mrs.  Burton  sat  down  and  drew  the  syrup  jug  to 
wards  her  plate  piled  high  with  the  trophies  of  her 
housewifery. 

"  It  hurts  me  to  go  there  and  hear  the  new  minister 
say  what  he  said  last  Sabbath !  " 

"What  was  that?" 

"  That  it  makes  him  sick  and  angry  to  hear  about 
this  divine  spark !  That  it  is  sacrilegious  to  talk  about 
any  divine  spark  in  human  beings — that  there  is  no 
God  in  us.  Wasn't  that  awful !  What  do  you  suppose 
the  denunciations  in  the  Bible  mean — those  of  Jesus, 
I  mean?  " 

"  Since  I  have  been  up  here  and  heard  Mr.  Herman 
preach,  I  have  decided  that  it  was  Jesus'  way  of  waking 


The  House  of  Landell  323 

the  consciousness  of  a  hard,  wild,  unthinking  people 
to  a  sense  of  their  moral  accountability,  and  that  it 
means  the  same  as  it  does  when  He  talks  to  the  more 
awakened  ones  of  justice  and  mercy  and  love  and 
helping  others.  It's  a  great  mistake  to  think  Jesus 
has  ever  said  He  would  relieve  us  of  our  accountabil 
ity.  Now,  I  can  hear  sermons  that  used  to  make  me 
sad  or  angry  and  see  just  what  sort  of  people  they  are 
fitted  for,  and  I  don't,  as  I  used  to,  take  to  myself 
what  is  meant  for  others.  The  men  Jesus  hurled  his 
denunciations  at  stand  out  to  me  as  a  fiery  mob  who 
understood  only  blood  and  vengeance.  According  to 
the  way  He  words  His  message,  I  can  see  before  Him 
the  Salvation  Army,  the  emotional  sects,  the  intellectual 
seekers,  or  the  spiritual  ones  among  them  all.  I  begin 
to  understand  and  to  be  conscious  that  I  understand. 
It  makes  me  happy  and  brave  and  brotherly,  instead 
of  separate  and  antagonistic." 

"  That  is  fine.  How  did  it  happen  that  the  Her 
mans  were  so  entirely  alone?  Did  you  ever  hear?  " 

"  I  was  told  they  were  lovely  people  and  very 
wealthy;  but  that  after  the  father  died  the  manager 
lost  their  money — for  the  son  had  taken  up  the  min 
istry  instead  of  business.  The  man  took  every  cent 
he  could  lay  his  hands  on,  but  in  some  way  that  the 
law  couldn't  touch  him, — misfortune,  he  claimed  it 
was,  business  and  political  conditions  and  such  like 
that  may  be  true  and  may  be  something  to  hide  be 
hind.  Even  their  house  insurance  was  unpaid  and 
when  the  house  burned  down  they  had  nothing  but 
the  shooting-box  on  Mt.  Nodel.  They  went  there  to 
try  to  pull  themselves  together  and  the  son  was  taken 
ill — you  know  the  rest.  I  think  there  was  a  good 
deal  of  bitterness  on  the  son's  part — I  don't  wonder! 
I  can  see  he  is  trying  to  idealize  the  processes  of  growth 
in  his  own  life  and  I  am  willing  to  take  his  teaching 


324  The  House  of  Landell 

even  if  he  can't  quite  live  it  yet,  for  I  know  he  knows 
what  the  rest  of  us  are  going  through." 

"  How  do  you  know  he  is  bitter?  " 

"  By  the  way  he  says  Father  in  the  prayers  and  bene 
diction — as  if  He  didn't  think  God  had  made  much  of 
a  showing  in  fatherliness  toward  him!  I  never  hear 
people  say  anything  without  listening  back  to  the  way 
they  say  it.  I  learned  that  from  my  brother." 

"  I  guess  the  Hermans'  experience  wasn't  any  too 
easy  to  take  from  a  loving  Father,  and  the  newspaper 
publicity  given  them  was  awful !  What  does  it  mean 
in  the  Bible — the  constant  allusions  to  being  lost?" 
Mr.  Winters  reverted  to  the  topic  uppermost  in  his 
mind.  "  This  new  minister  talks  about  them,  con 
stantly." 

"  I  can  explain  better  by  telling  stories.  I  was  at 
an  evening's  entertainment  with  my  brother — the 
organ  builder.  There  was  a  reciter  who  gave  us 
Tennyson's  '  Crossing  the  Bar.'  After  the  entertain 
ment,  my  brother  went  to  her  and  said,  '  Madame,  your 
work  was  very  fine ;  but  what  was  in  your  mind  when 
you  recited  "  Crossing  the  Bar  "  ?  You  never  got  over 
it.  There  was  something  that  prevented  your  cross 
ing.' 

"  She  looked  puzzled,  then  said,  '  The  only  way 
I  can  explain  it  is,  that  when  I  was  a  child  I  was  very 
nearly  drowned,  when  grounded  on  one.'  So  I  think  we 
are  in  a  mind  maze.  When  we  begin  to  know  that  all 
right  things  are  real,  we  don't  get  our  own  earth 
shadows  in  the  way  of  our  Sun  which  is  God,  and  we 
see  the  path.  Before  that,  in  a  certain  manner,  we  are 
lost,  even  on  the  very  spot  where,  later,  we  find  our 
selves." 

"  You  make  that  very  clear,"  said  Mr.  Winters,  ad 
miringly.  "  Tell  me  this, — what  does  it  mean  when  it 
says  God  is  a  consuming  fire  ?  " 


The  House  of  Landell  325 

"I  take  it,  that  God  gathers  all  to  Himself.  He 
makes  all  His  own.  That  frightens  those  who  don't 
understand;  but  makes  those  who  do  understand  glad 
and  happy.  They  know  they  are  being  strengthened, 
purified  and  reinforced  by  this  cleansing  power.  It 
doesn't  frighten  me.  I  think  it  is  beautiful.  Tell  me 
something  about  the  church.  I  don't  mean  to  dwell  on 
ugly  things,  but  I  am  interested.  I  did  hope  we  could 
come  together — those  that  like  to  be  scolded  and 
frightened,  to  get  them  to  do  right,  and  we  who  find 
our  help  in  being  taught  and  encouraged.  I  don't  see 
why  there  can't  be  one  church  with  God  as  the  Unit 
and  the  Purpose,  to  find  the  '  relationship  of  seemingly 
unrelated  things,'  instead  of  tearing  and  picking  every 
thought  to  pieces  as  if  we  were  crows.  You  see  from 
the  way  I  talk — so  different  from  what  I  used  to — 
how  much  I  am  learning  by  being  in  the  sunlight  of 
truth  here  on  the  hill.  Go  on,  tell  me  about  the 
church?" 

"  You  know  what  Frisby  said  about  the  lien  on  the 
land?  Well,  it  is  true.  He  has  held  us  down  for 
years  by  ramming  his  father's  gift  down  our  throats 
after  our  own  fathers  had  swallowed  it." 

Amy  giggled. 

"  There,  Amy,  don't  you  laugh  at  me.  That  was  a 
speech  I'll  allow." 

"  I  don't  see  how  he  could'a  rammed  it  down  your 
throat  after  your  fathers  had  swallowed  it,"  returned 
the  child  with  another  giggle. 

"  He  has,  until  I  wish  we  could  have  bought  it  out 
of  the  general  contribution  box,  instead  of  out  of  one 
man's  pocket.  His  father,  in  an  unworldly  manner  I 
hope  he  wasn't  knowing  to,  had  the  papers  made  out 
to  the  three  men,  as  individuals,  instead  of  trustees, 
and  now,  Frisby  and  his  wife,  and  her  brother,  whose 
father  was  another  of  the  trustees,  are  laying  claim 


326  The  House  of  Landell 

to  it  as  their  property.  It  has  been  put  off  and  put  off 
and  now  is  coming  up  in  court  next  week,  and  we 
decent  ones  are  ashamed.  Some  of  us  are  making  a 
move  to  worship  elsewhere.  We  aren't  ready  to  give 
up  the  old  traditions ;  but  we  are  willing  to  go  so  far 
as  to  try  for  new  light  on  them, —  " 

"  That's  all  we  ask  up  on  the  hill —  " 

'  To  call  what  we  do,  now,  worship,  is  an  insult  to 
the  Lord.  Now,  Timmy,  if  you've  eaten  your  cakes, 
we'll  turn  to  and  fix  up  Mrs.  Burton's  window." 

Timmy  sprang  up  with  a  vitality  that  was  wholly 
new  to  him.  The  glass  was  unwrapped,  he  was  ini 
tiated  into  the  preparation  of  the  putty,  and  then,  sub 
stantially  assisted  by  Mr.  Winters,  he  put  the  pane  in 
place,  Amy  and  Mrs.  Burton  watching  interestedly. 

'  That's  in  now,  in  good  shape,  but  it's  an  awful 
dirty  window."  Mr.  Winters  stood  off  from  the  house 
and  viewed  the  glass.  "  I  suppose  the  one  you  broke 
was  clean." 

"  I  'spose  so !  "  sighed  Timmy.  His  vitality  was 
ebbing  after  the  excitement  and  the  exertion. 

"  Now,  if  I  had  your  stuff,  I'd  have  made  my  square 
deal  with  you,"  said  Timmy  to  Amy.  "  It  does  take 
an  awful  long  time,  doesn't  it,  to  straighten  out  a  little 
smashing !  I've  only  got  ten  cents  towards  it !  "  Then, 
despondently,  "  If  I  had  my  violin,  I'd  show  you  how 
it  sounded  when  I  cut  that  glass !  " 

"  Thank  the  great  horn  spoon  you  haven't,"  Mrs. 
Burton  said,  vigorously,  gritting  her  teeth.  "If  you 
had  tried  to  show  me  after  the  fashion  of  that  night, 
there  might  be  more  smashing,  and  this  time  I  couldn't 
be  sure  that  you  would  be  the  one  to  do  it !  " 

Hi-Timmy  went  to  bed  that  night  smiling,  to  dream 
of  groves  carpeted  with  delicious,  soft  putty,  that 
smelt  of  linseed  oil  and  turpentine,  and  that  you  could 
shape  with  your  fingers  and  knife;  and  of  a  great  big 


The  House  of  Landell  327 

violin,  whole,  and  his  very  own,  with  which  he  could 
express,  to  his  heart's  delight,  all  the  woodland  sounds 
he  had  heard,  as  he  lay  beneath  the  odorous,  tremulous 
trees. 

After  he  was  sound  asleep  and  far  on  his  journey  of 
wonderful  adventure,  Mr.  Winters  and  two  other  men 
were  ushered  into  the  library. 

"  Good  evening,  Mr.  Winters,"  said  Mr.  Landell, 
cordially  shaking  hands,  "  I  am  glad  to  see  you,  and 
you,  too,  Prout,  and  Turner.  How  goes  everything  in 
town?" 

Mr.  Winters  straightened  back  in  his  chair  with  a 
sturdy  movement  that  strained  every  fibre  of  its  stout 
mechanism,  nervously  rubbing  the  palms  of  his  hands 
to  and  fro  as  he  spoke. 

"  I'm  bound  to  say,  sir,  they've  taken  a  new  turn 
since  that  church  of  yours  began  teaching  the  ethics  of 
civics,  as  I  believe  you  call  it.  Public  opinion  is  a 
great  thing,  Mr.  Landell,  and  public  opinion  has  been 
waked  up  by  that  teaching  of  yours,  till,  somehow, 
those  hoodlums  that  used  to  make  things  noisy  and 
give  the  police  trouble  have  subsided  a  good  deal.  You 
teach  us  to  spread  the  tidings  given  us  by  the  church 
and  bear  it  into  the  working  paths  of  life.  There  is 
something  deeper  than  efficiency  and  civilization,  isn't 
there,  when  both  have  threatened  to  crush  the  world 
on  the  same  lines  that  savagery  has  done  but  with  so 
much  more  skill." 

"  There's  another  thing.  These  things  have  to  be 
taught  so  carefully.  A  very  good  man,  teaching  that 
workman,  brother  to  brother,  should  wage  the  war 
against  tyranny,  nearly  precipitated  a  riot  in  my 
saw  mill  in  contention  against  me.  You  teach  that 
brotherhood  is  cooperation  with  all  parts  of  the  body 
politic,  not  aggression  against  any  part.  It's  won 
derful  how,  as  soon  as  that  thought  crept  in,  I  was 


328  The  House  of  Landell 

no  longer  considered  a  tyrant  but  a  man  with  the 
rest  of  them,  trying  to  work  out  the  best  for  all," 
put  in  Mr.  Turner.  "  I  wasn't  in  favor  of  mixing 
civics  and  religion;  but  I  see  you  can't  unmix  'em, 
so  to  speak." 

"  That  is  the  way  I  feel,  Turner.  Everything  is 
based  on  Unity." 

Musingly,  Mr.  Landell  sought  the  heart  of  the  flame, 
as  if  to  fathom  its  secrets. 

"  How  are  matters  at  the  old  church  ?  "  There  was 
a  touch  of  tenderness  in  his  tones.  "  I  love  the  old 
church.  It  was  my  father's  and  mother's,  and  they 
were  saintly." 

Mr.  Prout  hitched  his  chair  forward  with  a  confi 
dential  gesture,  as  his  host  stooped  and  threw  some 
driftwood  on  the  fire. 

"  Mr.  Landell,  things  couldn't  be  worse,"  Mr.  Prout 
followed  his  gesture  with  words.  "  We  have  come  to 
talk  it  over  with  you." 

"  We  want  to  act  decently  and  in  order,"  said  Mr. 
Turner.  "  Frisby  has  taken  his  case  into  court  and  it 
is  up  to  us  whether  we  fight  the  claim.  I,  for  one, 
don't  want  to  go  to  law  over  a  church  affair." 

"  I  do  not  believe  the  court  will  sustain  the  case. 
It  is  too  evident  the  men  were  servants  of  a  body." 

"  We  are  in  no  position  to  build,  for  you  took  a 
great  deal  of  our  root  with  you  that  night.  It  seems 
foolish  to  clutter  up  the  landscape  with  any  more  ill- 
kept,  half-filled,  dead-and-alive  church  properties,  when 
there  is  a  communion  like  yours,  ready  to  receive  all 
grades  of  wisdom  on  the  one  basis  of  God  the  Maker 
and  Finisher  of  all,  giving  the  hand  of  fellowship  on 
the  truth  that  worship  to  God  is  service  to  man.  We 
aren't  ready  to  give  up  the  creed ;  but  can't  we  come  in 
with  you, — in  part?  If  you  could  rent  us  your  audi 
torium  for  a  Sunday  service  and  Sunday  School,  we 


The  House  of  Landell  329 

will  manage  the  rest  at  the  houses.  I  suspect  you'll 
see  us  creeping  into  your  heart  bit  by  bit  till  we  are  all 
yours,— 

"  And  ours  is  all  yours,"  interrupted  Mr.  Landell. 
"  Belief  is  as  a  garment.  It  fits  our  embodiment.  You 
comprehend  the  line  of  march  splendidly.  We  do  not 
wish  to  criticize  old  dogma,  neither  to  become  standard- 
izers.  What  in  one  state  of  consciousness  seems  a  mis 
apprehension,  is  not  so  in  another.  We  wish  to  in 
volve  the  all-inclusive  social  expression  of  a  spiritual 
purpose;  the  growing  out  of  all  sorts  of  slavery  to 
wards  freedom,  personal,  civic,  universal.  This  im 
pels  expression  of  freedom  and  is  constructive.  Let 
us  stop  talking  of  retrogression  in  the  churches.  It 
has  been  steady  uplift.  Every  oncoming  generation 
of  ministers  and  of  congregations  has  higher  standards 
than  those  before.  Every  day,  congregations  look  for 
greater  and  deeper  nobility  of  character  among  their 
members.  Every  day,  less  is  heard  of  a  lost  world 
and  more  of  one  universe,  precious  and  valuable  in  its 
continual  making;  less  about  the  acceptance  of  a  Jesus- 
God  of  two  centuries  ago  whose  wounds  are  kept  open 
and  bleeding  by  our  sins,  imposed  upon  us  by  our  vile 
nature, — and  more  of  the  inherent  divinity  of  human 
nature  of  which  Jesus  is  prototype  redeeming  us  to 
the  reaching  of  that  type  through  His  example;  more 
of  the  inherent  divinity  of  our  natures  one  with  God, 
which  we  are  to  express;  more  of  the  preparation  of 
souls  to  nurture  and  home  the  Christ  Spirit,  making 
each  individual  a  redeemer  to  souls  still  asleep." 

"  I  have  been  to  a  great  many  of  your  services," 
said  Mr.  Turner,  "  and  have  learned  of  Jesus  as  I 
never  knew  Him  before.  I  see,  too,  that  no  man  liveth 
or  dieth  to  himself  but  each  to  the  glory  of  the  whole. 
To  rejoice  in  being  saved  while  one  believes  any 


330  The  House  of  Landell 

brother  or  sister  lost,  now  seems  to  me  impossible  of 
belief." 

"  The  church  owes  this  duty  to  society — that  it  think 
fearlessly  upon  the  laws  governing  the  relations  of 
human  life  and  interpret  religion  in  such  terms  as  to 
unite  cooperatively,  men  now  divided  by  their  special 
izations  of  thought  and  labor.  It  should  express  the 
principle  of  social  betterment,  not  make  social  better 
ment  the  basis.  With  gladness,  it  should  train  the 
mind  toward  recognition  of  the  Spiritual  power  which 
provides  moral  force  for  social  coordination.  It  should 
train  men  in  the  spiral  relations  of  life — a  constant 
mounting,  in  thought  and  desire,  toward  the  concep 
tion  of  the  divine  humanity  demonstrated  in  Jesus, 
the  Master,  who  worked  on  nature's  plane  to  express 
Universal  Principle  through  nature's  forces  and  in 
struments.  Let  me  talk  this  over  with  some  of  the 
others  and  arrange  to  meet  you  and  plan  together," 
Mr.  Landell  concluded,  as  the  callers  rose  to  go,  and, 
with  relief  written  on  their  sturdy  faces,  bade  their 
host  good  night. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

"Habits  are  principles  which  have  become  in 
stincts  and  have  passed  over  into  flesh  and  blood." 

Amiel. 

A  DISREPUTABLE  looking  object  in  training  togs  was 
trotting  along  the  country  road,  and  old  Mrs.  Frisby, 
as  she  passed,  dropped  her  eyes  in  maidenly  constraint, 
remarking  audibly,  that  "  One  might  as  well  face  the 
Boston  Art  Museum  statuary  department  exercising  on 
the  square,  as  to  meet  those  disgraceful  athletes  going 
about  in  less'n  their  nightshirts." 

For  almost  the  first  time  in  his  life,  Tom's  mind  was 
not  fully  on  the  work  he  had  in  .hand.  Truth  to  tell, 
he  never  had  been  quite  so  care- free  since  the  set-to 
with  the  bear.  His  visit  to  Mattee  Sue  had  broadened 
his  immaturity  into  something  far  richer  and  deeper. 
Love,  wonderful  revealer,  had  involved  new  pictures  in 
his  mind.  Besides,  he  was  feeling  an  irritating  dis 
quietude  as  he  realized  that  the  race  is  not  always  to 
the  swift  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong.  He  was  irritated 
by  his  sarcastic  reflections  that  not  he,  with  his  phil 
osophy,  put  up  and  labelled  pharmaceutically,  had  saved 
their  lives  when  almost  in  the  bear's  clutches,  but  that 
it  was  Agnes,  the  dweller  among  the  stars,  as  some 
had  called  her,  who,  by  her  sense  of  impending  need, 
had  provided  him  with  the  implement  which  had  stayed 
him  at  the  pit's  edge,  and  who,  by  her  swift  thought 
and  prompt  action,  had  enticed  the  beast  to  doom. 

"  I  don't  feel  so  cocksure  as  I  did  that  I  can  teach 
Agnes,"  he  mused,  slowing  his  pace,  and,  out  of  tune 

331 


332  The  House  of  Landell 

with  his  exercise,  dropping  into  a  walk,  "  I  don't  wish 
to  lose  my  assurance,  but  I  do  want  a  perspective  on 
myself.  I  wonder  what  sort  of  puling  creature  I 
should  be  if  I  had  been  fed  on  the  damning  effects 
of  loving  persons,  and  impressed  with  the  danger  of 
loving  God  through  humanity,  or  of  finding  God  in 
humanity.  She  has  always  been  on  the  wrong  side  of 
the  fence  for  comfort,  has  Agnesia,  for  when  she  be 
gan  to  come  out  of  this  nightmare,  she  was  condemned 
as  erratic  or  irreligious.  Do  you  think,  Tom  Landell, 
you  would  have  done  as  well  as  she  has,  and  moved 
on  an  orbit  so  much  larger  than  the  majority,  with 
as  much  grace  and  helpfulness,  making  so  few  mis 
takes  in  the  unknown  country  she  is  treading!  Pouf ! 
You  know  you  wouldn't !  " 

Walking  to  the  boat-house,  he  put  a  sweater  over  his 
"  disabilly,"  as  the  irate  Mrs.  Frisby  designated  it, 
pulled  out  a  boat,  shot  into  the  centre  of  the  lake.  He 
endeavored,  though  contrary  to  the  theory  he  often 
propounded  to  his  sister,  to  work  off,  by  vigorous  phys 
ical  exertion,  this  new  experience, — dissatisfaction 
with  self. 

He  rowed  for  some  time,  soothed  by  the  beauty 
about  him.  The  waters  lay  transparent,  caressing 
miniature  peninsulas  which  pointed,  lance-like,  or  nar 
rowed  sinuously  toward  the  forests.  Rounding  one 
of  these  curves,  he  came  upon  Agnes,  alone,  in  a  boat. 

"  How  relieved  I  am  to  see  you,"  she  called.  "  I 
thought  I'd  take  a  row — and  my  arms  gave  out." 

"  You  should  have  known  better  than  to  overtax 
yourself,"  was  on  the  tip  of  Tom's  tongue.  Instead, 
he  said,  beneath  his  breath,  "  Cut  it  out,  ignoramus, 
and  learn  a  few  things."  Then  he  called  cheerily, 
"  Throw  your  rope  over  and  we'll  wander  about 
awhile." 

Agnes   tossed   the   rope   across   into  her  brother's 


The  House  of  Landell  333 

hands,  and  the  two  trolled  silently,  the  water  humming 
its  pleasant  song  about  the  boats. 

"  Agnes,  did  you  ever  see  any  farther  into  those 
wells?  "  said  Tom  after  a  while. 

"  No ;  but  I  am  far  from  satisfied  that  it  was  imag 
ination.  I  want  to  receive  messages  while  I  am  in 
alert  happy  consciousness  of  my  worth,  as  a  messen 
ger,  to  receive  intelligible  advice.  I  do  not  wish  to  be 
thrown  by  some  inhibiting  force  into  a  depleted  condi 
tion,  that  I  may  be  worked  on.  It  would  be  a  com 
paratively  easy  matter  to  cut  the  whole  thing  from  my 
life,  but  it  is  too  tremendous  a  gift  to  toss  aside.  I 
must  learn  how  to  use  it.  As  to  the  well,  I  have  felt 
that  it  would  be  mercenary  to  think  much  about  it; 
but  Aunt  Luella  often  said  she  was  going  to  leave  me 
her  money,  that  she  had  no  direct  heirs,  and  that  she 
loved  me  best  of  her  husband's  heirs.  It  must  be  all 
right,  however.  Probably  Mr.  Jenkins  was  nice  to 
her.  He  is  an  attractive  and  very  magnetic  man  when 
sober.  I  should  wish  her  to  do  with  her  own  as  she 
pleased.  To  change  the  subject — it  has  been  so  won 
derful  I  have  not  voiced  it  before,  but  what  you  said, 
after  we  left  the  keeper  at  the  quarries  the  day  we 
encountered  the  bear,  gave  me  a  clearer  interpretation 
of  universal  love  in  personal  manifestation.  I  real 
ized,  as  never  before,  my  unity  with  all  elements  and 
with  all  created  things,  and  that  in  doing  to  the  least 
of  these,  I  am  doing  unto  Him.  No  one  can  make 
character  if  he  shuns  opportunity  to  practice,  can  he !  " 

Tom  gasped. 

"  Are  you  loving  me  for  practice!  "  he  burst  out,  in 
his  state  of  self-conscious  dissatisfaction,  taking  to 
himself  the  remark  he  generally  would  have  taken  in 
the  abstract  and  passed  over.  He  was  humbled  still 
more  in  his  own  estimation  of  himself,  at  what  he 
chose  to  consider  a  wholesale  classing  of  himself  with 


334  The  House  of  Landell 

"  the  least  of  these."  "  That  means  any  old  thing  in 
the  world,"  he  continued  indignantly.  "  Get  into  the 
light  of  what  you  believe !  Don't  carry  a  big  umbrella 
to  hide  from  yourself  the  very  view  you  have  climbed 
so  high  to  find.  Suppose  I  told  you  that  the  only 
reason  father  and  mother  and  I  love  you  is  because 
we  need  to  train  personal  love  for  character's  sake. 
What  would  you  think  of  that  for  high-handed  selfish 
ness?" 

"  I  should  think  you  were  right !  " 
"  You  make  me  shiver  in  every  fibre !  " 
"  I  make  myself  shiver  the  same  way.    It  is  what  is 
breaking  my  heart  in  the  midst  of  seeming  happiness. 
Oh,  Tomsey,  don't  you  see !  " 

"  No,  I  don't !  There  seems  nothing  tangible  about 
you,  even  to  pinch.  I  am  here,  your  brother,  by  blood 
and  sympathy,— 

"  The  second  counts;  the  first  may  or  may  not." 
"  Don't  you  acknowledge  I  bear  a  different  relation 
to  you  than  does  the  drunken   scissors-grinder  who 
frightened  you  so  that  you  ran  all  the  way  to  the  sum 
mer  house  for  my  protection!  " 

"  I  was  a  coward  and  did  not  recognize  the  unity  be 
tween  us." 

"  Don't  get  into  that  selfless  tangle, — ' 
"  Just  now,  you  accused  me  of  high-handed  selfish 
ness  !    I  must  see  God  in  every  being." 

"  Then  do  it  in  a  common  sense  way.  Do  you  want 
to  love  human  beings?  " 

"  Yes."    Her  face  became  a  radiant  crimson.    Tom 
looked  at  her,  a  softening  light  in  his  eyes. 
"  H'm,"  beneath  his  breath.     Then  aloud, 
"  You  would  like  that  money  of  Aunt  Luella's  and 
think  you  have  no  right  to  investigate  a  perfectly  hon 
orable  claim !    Don't  you  think  it  is  honorable !  " 


The  House  of  Landell  335 

"  I  won't  put  out  my  hand  to  claim  what  may  not  be 
mine." 

"  Are  you  going  to  repudiate  it  ?  Use  common 
sense." 

" '  Ye  objects  brought  my  thoughts  from  diffusion 
and  formed  them  into  shape,' '  quoted  Agnes,  a 
mystical  look  in  her  eyes.  "  You  are  right.  But  I 
won't  claim  it.  The  Maker  of  all  knows  what  is  mine 
and  I  will  make  myself  a  conscious  distributing  centre 
of  His  wisdom.  Then,  if  it  is  right,  the  symbol  of  the 
two  wells  will  be  explained." 

"  You  are  a  strange  combination  of  action  and  in 
action."  He  looked  at  her  meditatively,  as  they  trolled 
along,  side  by  side. 

"  What  has  become  of  Ross  Mevin,"  he  said  at 
length.  "Is  it  your  fault?"  Then,  with  a  keen 
thrust  of  his  intellect  into  her  mind,  he  said,  almost 
fiercely, 

"  Are  you  going  to  play  round  Philip  Herman  until 
you  get  wrapped  up  in  the  meshes  of  misery?  You 
seem  dangerously  interested  in  him.  I've  lived  side 
by  side  with  you  and,  notwithstanding  my  inherent 
belief  in  your  philosophy,  I  feel  as  if  you  were  always 
standing  on  the  edge  of  a  crater  from  which  I  must 
rescue  you;  but,  while  I  am  thinking  up  the  means, 
you  fly,  above  and  over,  and  settle  on  some  new 
vantage  ground.  I  am  awfully  worried  about  this 
melodramatic  interest  you  take  in  Herman's  work. 
Some  of  it  is  the  real  love  of  principle,  or  of  forming 
thoughts  out  of  diffusion  into  shape  as  you  said  just 
now,  but  there  is  a  personal  quality  about  it,  that, — 
don't  get  your  affections  or  your  emotions  tied  up  with 
that  man.  He  would  kill  you !  Nothing  against  him, 
he's  a  fine  fellow;  but  for  you!  Well,  don't  let's 
poison  ourselves  by  argument.  It's  a  bad  precipitate. 
I  came  pretty  near  taking  a  dose.  You  see,  you  were 


336  The  House  of  Landell 

born  on  the  spiritual  plane  and  have  to  come  down  to 
struggle  with  the  details  of  our  making.  That  is  what 
makes  me  always  fearful  lest  you  don't  know  how  to 
use  the  materials  given  you.  You  live  in  the  realms 
of  universal  love :  when  you  attempt  to  actualize  it  in 
individuals,  do,  for  heaven's  sake,  choose  the  right 
man." 

"  I  meant  the  same  thing  you  do  when  you  howled 
at  me  and  called  what  I  said,  high-handed  selfishness. 
Words!  Words!  How  often  we  mean  alike  and 
would  know  it  but  that  we  cloud  our  meanings ! " 

"  I  am  living  in  the  time  of  my  growth  when  the 
love  of  father  and  mother  and  you  and  Mattee  Sue 
are  leading  me  toward  the  Great  Light.  You  recall 
the  time  when  you  lived  as  a  soul  in  the  universal  with 
out  differentiating  it  into  the  loves  of  father  and 
mother  and  me  and  Ross  Mevin, —  " 

"  I  don't  love  Ross  Mevin,"  she  burst  out,  her  face 
aflame.  "  I  never  think  of  him  except  as  an  idea. 
Stop  laughing !  You'll  tip  us  over !  " 

"  It  would  do  you  good  to  be  tipped  over.  Mellow 
up,  the  least  bit,  dear,  the  process  does  feel  so  good. 
I  wager  you  wouldn't  hear  a  man  propose  to  you  if 
your  mind  happened  to  be  upon  some  theorem  of  the 
stars.  You  are  absolutely  blank  to  such  matters  as  see 
ing  a  man  looking  in  your  direction  when  you  are  on 
your  trip  to  the  universal,  and  when  you  come  back 
you  would  just  as  possibly  put  out  your  hand  to  the 
wrong  fellow  as  you  would  take  a  lot  of  pains  to  get 
up  a  swell  costume  for  a  function,  and  then  go  to  it 
with  your  hat  on  hind  side  before." 

Agnes  laughed. 

"  I  don't  always  do  that !  Don't  lay  it  up  against  me 
as  the  inevitable —  " 

"  It  isn't  the  usual  that  happens  in  choosing  a  man 
either —  " 


The  House  of  Landell  337 

"Don't  tease  me,  I  am  in  agony!  If  I  am  to  love 
God,  through  individuals,  I  must  love  those  I  have 
injured.  I  feel  so  distressed  I  am  almost  paralyzed  at 
times,  I  cannot  throw  off  the  terrible  weight  of  re 
morse  at  the  part  I  have  played  in  Philip  Herman's 
life  or  the  horrible  obsession  of  his  antagonism  to 
me.  I  must  sacrifice  myself  for  him  in  some  way,— 
give  myself  for  him  in  vicarious  atonement  for  the 
indignity  I  have  made  him  suffer.  What  can  I  do !  " 

"  Marry  him  and  be  his  '  patience  on  a  monument 
smiling  at  grief ! '  "  burst  out  Tom,  furiously.  "  Giv 
ing  for  him  and  giving  to  him  are  different  proposi 
tions  and  I  don't  see  why  either  should  concern  you. 
I  am  looking  at  you  hard  to  find  out  if  you  have  fallen 
in  love  with  that  seething  hot  bed  of  rampant  pride." 

"  It  is  not  rampant  pride !  I  did  a  horrible  thing 
to—" 

"  The  newspapers  did  that !  " 

"  I  will  not  evade  the  blame.  It  was  my  method  that 
gave  them  opportunity  to  place  him  on  a  saucer  of 
huckleberries  and  hawk  him  to  the  world,  and  to  con 
nect  his  name  with  mine,  as  a  common  psychic,— 

"  There,  you  have  as  much  right  to  be  angry  with 
him  as  he  with  you, — it  was  the  fault  of  neither." 

"  With  an  insulting  innuendo  as  to  the  culmination 
of  the  romance  in  a  manner  amply  making  up  for  his 
fallen  fortunes  and  uniting  two  families — it  is  dis 
gusting  and  terrifying." 

"  Suggestion, — influence, — I  thought  you  were  su 
perior  to  being  spun  like  a  top  by  the  cord  of  public 
opinion." 

"  On  the  contrary,  I  know  that  is  one  of  the  weakest 
points  of  my  character.  I  can  be  spun,  and  in  my  at 
tempts  to  prevent  this,  I  grow  inert." 

"  How  did  you  get  hold  of  all  that  expose?  We 
kept  the  papers  from  you  after  the  first  one  you  saw." 


338  The  House  of  Landell 

"  Grace  Herrick  didn't.  She  kept  me  fully  supplied 
with  literature  from  every  source.  If  he  didn't  seem 
to  despise  me  so, — I  would  be  willing  to — 

"  Give  the  papers  a  chance  to  say, — I  told  you  so ! 
eh !  Big  headlines, — '  Natural  sequence  which  we 
foretold  months  ago !  Consummation  of  romance  be 
tween  psychic  and  pauper  in  high  life!  Psychic  and 
pauper!  Pleasant  alliterations!"  he  sneered,  wrath- 
fully.  "  How  do  you  purpose  consummating  this 
union, — disintegration  is  a  better  word! — with  a  man 
who  does  you  the  superior  honor  of  disliking  you  al 
most  to  the  hating  point !  " 

"  Often  I  feel  as  if  unseen  forces  were  struggling 
for  the  integrity  of  my  soul." 

"  They  are;  but  they  are  natural  forces  of  yourself 
and  not  spooks.  Your  inert — I  won't  say  negative, 
for  negative  is  as  strong  as  positive — attitude  of  loving 
the  whole  universe  without  regard  to  relations,  which 
your  natural  grit  won't  permit,  will  gain  the  victory 
for  them.  Doubt  and  fear  are  elemental  forces.  Do 
you  intend  to  fall  in  love  with  them  and  let  them  rule 
you!  Love  neither  compels  nor  makes  demands.  If 
what  you  feel  within  you  does  not  cooperate  with  com 
mon  sense,  set  it  down  as  not  love." 

"  Love  cannot  be  the  greatest  thing  in  the  world !  " 

"  I  like  the  thought  of  wisdom  better.  There  seems 
more  positiveness  and  less  emotionalism  in  our  under 
standing  of  it.  It  is  better  to  keep  the  mind  on  that, 
Agnes,  than  on  mischievous  forces,  seen  or  unseen. 
That  is  disintegrating." 

"  I  know !  It  is  our  attitude  which  enables  mischief 
or  value  to  infill  us.  Fire  is  fire,  be  it  preserver  or  de 
stroyer." 

"  Never  let  yourself  believe  that  you  are  listening 
to  mischief-making  intelligences  of  any  sort.  Did  I 


The  House  of  Landell  339 

unintentionally  hit  the  nail  on  the  head!  Are  you  in 
love  with  Philip  Herman?" 

"  No,  I  only  want  to  sacrifice  myself  for  him  in 
some  way  as  reparation.  I  should  like  to  place  him 
rightfully  before  the  world  where  I've  debased  him." 

"On  a  pedestal!  What  sort  of  one?  He,  a  god 
with  feet  of  clay,  on  an  altar  of  delusion !  Do  you  love 
him!  " 

"No!" 

"  Does  he  show  any  signs  of  proposing?  " 

"  No!  "  indignantly. 

"  How  do  you  suggest  cementing  the  matrimonial 
bond?  Shall  you  make  the  advances  yourself  and 
compel  him  to  accept  you?  " 

"If  it  is  my  duty  the  way  will  be  made  plain." 

Tom  gasped. 

"  Duty!  When  you  are  in  these  moods  of  self-con 
demnation,  the  more  one  says,  the  more  unmanageable 
you  become.  You  would  not  dream  of  marrying  on 
that  false  basis,  would  you !  " 

"  I  would  do  anything  I  thought  I  should,  to  rectify 
my  mistake." 

"  We  don't  rectify  mistakes  by  perpetrating  others 
and  you  know  it!  You  will  do  well  to  look  into  the 
ethics  of  marriage  if  you  have  any  idea  that  you  can 
go  into  it  to  restore  self-respect,  or  pay  debts,  or  for 
any  other  sort  of  vicarious  atonement.  You  and  I 
are  not  here — I  am  giving  you  your  own  philosophy 
when  I  say  this — to  rush  into  experiences  of  emotional 
sentimentalism,  to  learn,  with  blood-sweat  and  anguish 
the  truth  concealed  in  its  horrors.  We  are  here  to 
prove  that  pure  aspiration  and  trust,  inherent  selec 
tion,  spiritual  comprehension  and  apprehension,  do 
prevent  wreckage  such  as  yours  must  be  should  you 
permit  yourself  to  be  drawn  into  horrible  phenomena 
of  experience,  through  the  acceptance  of  any  other 


34°  The  House  of  Landell 

guides.  For  you,  with  your  ideals,  even  to  formulate 
such  statements,  astounds  me!  It  proves  how  abso 
lutely  self-condemnation  can  disturb  vision  and  make 
one  see  at  all  sorts  of  angles !  Hasn't  all  your  talk  and 
all  your  thought  taught  you  that  Philip  Herman  must 
work  out  his  salvation  along  with  the  rest  of  us; — 
and  evidently,  prefers  to!  You  never  can  hear  love 
speak  while  your  heavenly  vision  is  so  constantly  in 
terrupted  by  little  gnomes  of  doubt,  fear  and  self- 
condemnation  !  You  shall  love,  for  the  love  of  loving, 
the  right  man!  I  won't  have  any  other  kind  and  you 
shan't  marry  any  other  kind;  and  you  shall  gain  some 
sort  of  perspective  worthy  your  splendid  powers — For 
a  place  with  little  current,  our  boats  are  moving  swiftly, 
— where  are  we?  " 

Instead  of  the  wooded  shores  sloping  to  the  water's 
edge,  Agnes  saw  a  well-kept  green-sward,  dotted  here 
and  there  with  superb  hydrangeas  and  fall  cannse,  set 
back  from  the  water  amidst  vines  and  trees.  A  man, 
a  woman,  and  some  frightened  children  were  trying 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  two  in  the  boats,  be 
neath  which  tbe  water  swirled  more  and  more  rapidly, 
while  louder  grew  the  sounds  heretofore  unnoticed, 
mingled,  as  these  had  been,  with  the  soughing  of  trees, 
splashing  of  water  and  the  intensity  of  their  emotions. 

"The  gates!  The  gates!"  she  cried,  "Oh,  Tom, 
the  gates!  " 

The  lake  was  one  of  a  chain  on  which  demand  was 
made  when  the  water-supply  ran  low  in  the  neighbor 
ing  city.  The  gates  were  up  to-night,  letting  their 
floods  through,  insidiously  sucking  to  their  death  those 
two  bright  lives;  swirling,  eddying,  faster  and  faster, 
while  the  steady  boom  grew  more  and  more  insistent. 

In  a  flash,  Agnes  grasped  the  situation.  She  saw 
they  could  be  saved  if  they  worked  together — but  there 
were  the  two  boats!  She  knew  Tom  would  not  drop 


The  House  of  Landell  341 

the  rope  that  connected  these,  though  the  holding  lead 
him  to  his  death!  Should  she  row,  or  be  still!  Her 
efforts  would  prove  worse  than  useless  unless  she 
moved  in  rhythm  with  his.  If  she  could  depend  on 
her  strength  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  they 
would  pass  the  danger  line  and  Tom  could  manage 
the  rest.  One  hundred  and  fifty  yards  against  those 
swirling  waters,  in  time  to  the  stroke  of  a  college 
crew! 

In  the  midst  of  this  turbulence  of  mind,  thundering 
through  the  sounding  waters  came  the  message  to  her 
soul, — "  I  and  my  Father  are  one !  "  In  that  second, 
strength  supernal  and  vision  for  doing  came  to  her. 
Bending  to  the  stroke,  she  recovered  in  perfect  rhythm 
with  Tom  and  for  the  moment  their  dizzying  onrush 
was  checked.  Little  by  little  they  gained  control  over 
the  almost  flying  boats  and  skillfully  made  the  turn  in 
the  vortex  of  waters.  Again  and  again  she  bent  and 
recovered,  struggling  for  life  against  death  with  the 
Lorelei  singing  in  the  rushing  waters.  Inch  by  inch 
they  forced  themselves  away  from  the  seething,  eddy 
ing  swirl  that  threatened  to  engulf  them. 

Again  she  bent  and  recovered.  They  moved  on 
while  the  group  on  the  water's  edge,  added  to  the  tur 
bulence  by  their  shouts  of  direction  and  encourage 
ment.  All  grew  black  before  her.  The  air  seemed 
full  of  flecks  of  fire,  dipping  and  flashing.  The  danger 
signal  danced  dizzily  in  the  mist  rapidly  gathering  be 
fore  her  eyes.  She  was  almost  losing  sight  of  Tom, 
but  the  closeness  of  their  spirits  grew  more  assured. 
They  had  walked  together,  talked  together,  rowed  to 
gether — a  little — but  most  of  all,  they  had  thought  to 
gether.  There  was  nothing  impersonal  in  her  attitude 
towards  him — he  need  not  be  afraid !  Though  her  eyes 
could  scarcely  see  him  through  the  fire-flecked  dark 
ness,  still  she  moved  with  him.  Rhythmically  bending 


342  The  House  of  Landell 

and  recovering,  she  dipped  her  sparkling  oars,  whose 
blades  dripped  molten  silver.  Rather  than  seeing  in 
the  darkness  that  had  gathered  about  her  outward 
vision,  she  seemed,  inwardly,  full  of  light.  She  knew 
that  a  black  pole  shot  past  them ;  she  knew,  rather  than 
heard,  enthusiastic  cheers  from  the  gate-keeper  and 
the  lusty-throated  children;  she  knew  that  Tom  was 
calling  to  her  to  stop  rowing,  and  she  knew  that  steadily 
she  was  helping  pull  themselves  away  from  the  keeper's 
lodge,  away  from  the  sounding,  shivering,  swirling 
waters,  back  into  the  quiet  lake. 

The  two  said  almost  nothing  as  they  landed.  When 
the  boats  were  housed,  they  turned  towards  home. 

"  I  won't  walk  up  the  road  with  you,"  Tom  said. 
"  Sister  Frisby  eyed  me  as  if  I  were  a  plucked  cupid 
and  it  won't  do  to  include  you  in  such  a  covey." 

When  she  had  left  him,  he  walked  sturdily  into  the 
woods. 

"  Coroner's  verdict :  '  Drowned  by  dispensation  of 
Providence,'  "  he  said  grimly,  as  he  stood  still  be 
neath  the  trees,  alone  with  himself.  "  Verdict  of  the 
Great  Knower : — *  Tom  Landell  chose  to  grow  angry 
over  the  problems  of  life  so  inhibiting  his  mind's  ac 
tivities  that  he  did  not  cooperate  with  inherent  intelli 
gence  and  was  swept  into  danger  currents.'  Drowned 
by  the  dispensation  of  Providence !  Pouf !  We  should 
have  been  drowned  by  the  dispensation  of  unconscious 
choice." 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Searching  what,  or  what  manner  of  time  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  which  was  in  them  did  signify, 
when  it  testified  beforehand  the  sufferings  of 
Christ,  and  the  glory  that  should  follow. 

Peter  I.  i.  n. 

THAT  night  Agnes  went  to  her  room;  but  not  to 
sleep.  Sitting  in  darkness,  enveloping  her  in  myste 
rious  folds,  she  looked  into  the  seeming  void  that  gave 
no  evidence  of  the  landscape  within  and  behind  its 
shadows.  She  knew  it  was  there,  even  as  she  knew 
that  under  the  denseness  of  her  superficial  mind,  stood 
her  soul,  alight.  As  she  sat  there,  her  consciousness 
began  to  feel  its  way  through  the  opaqueness  and  she 
sensed  the  forest  in  misty  chiaroscuro,  and  the  moon 
light  glancing  upon  the  lake  in  flecks  and  falls  as  nar 
row  as  lances  and  as  keen.  Excepting  for  the  low 
monotone  of  the  waters  rushing  through  the  far-away 
gates,  so  intense  a  stillness  filled  the  night  it  became 
like  a  palpable  pulsing  entity. 

Little  by  little,  her  consciousness  differentiated  and 
translated  these  mysteries  behind  the  veil  of  nature. 
There  stole  into  the  recognition  of  her  hearing  a  sound 
as  of  bullets  striking  steel.  Sight  pierced  the  lower 
clouds  and  mounted  to  where  black  cumuli  piled  high 
along  a  more  distant  horizon  though  toward  the  zenith 
the  concave  heights  were  clear  and  blue.  A  breath  of  vi 
talizing  air  sent  a  message  to  her  nostrils  of  the  moun 
tains  beyond  sight,  and  her  whole  sense-being  reached 
out  to  welcome  the  rain.  She  knew  that  drops  were 

343 


344  The  House  of  Landell 

falling  upon  the  leaves,  and  the  sound  echoed  to  her 
from  the  forest;  she  felt  them  touch  the  soft  green 
moss  and  followed  them  as  they  leaped  into  the  brooks ; 
they  spattered  upon  the  lichen-dashed  rocks  and  she 
bounded  in  spirit  with  them  as  they  ricochetted  on  the 
grass;  they  touched  the  pebbles  and  her  heart  moved 
as  if  it  were  itself  the  very  heart  of  the  ferns;  they 
entered,  like  life-giving  elixir,  into  the  dying  brakes, 
and,  with  them,  she  felt  their  vitalizing,  potent  energy. 

She  knelt  by  the  window  and  leaned  her  arms  upon 
the  sill,  letting  the  drops  dash  in  upon  her  face  as  she 
drew  deep  breaths  of  enlightenment  and  inspiration. 
The  shower  was  sharp  and  short.  The  battalions  of 
rain-drops  surged  across  the  lake,  echoed  in  the  dis 
tance,  then  died  away,  still  leaving  the  landscape  en- 
veiled  in  brume. 

A  surge  of  desolation  and  apartness  unfelt  for 
months,  swept  over  her. 

"  I,  not  see  the  personal !  "  She  dropped  her  head 
upon  her  arms.  "  It  is  what  I  do  see!  Night  after 
night  I  hold  the  forms  of  the  little  sisters  and  brothers 
who  died  long  ago.  I  suffer,  even  now,  in  the  suffer 
ings  they  have  transcended !  And  Aunt  Luella !  Why 
did  I  not  respond  to  the  call  of  her  heart !  It  was  be 
cause  I  was  trying  to  rise  above  the  psychic  and 
analyze  the  divine  currents  of  the  universe! 

"  I  wish  I  knew.  I  do  feel  that  I  am  gaining  in 
consciousness  of  intuition.  I  am  beginning  to  recog 
nize  the  passivity  which  admits  the  drift  of  flotsam  and 
jetsam  toward  my  mentality, — absolutely  sucks  it  in 
as  into  a  vortex  of  confusion.  There  is  a  fierceness  in 
my  attitude  as  I  sense  the  coming,  a  resentment  that  I 
should  be  intruded  upon.  Training  will  enable  me 
to  act  intuitionally,  on  the  instant,  concerning  truths 
to  which  reason  leads  us  slowly. 

"  Have  I  been  wrong !  "    She  kept  the  question  surg- 


The  House  of  Landell  345 

ing  through  her  mind.  "  If  I  am  personal,  I  am  ac 
cused  of  being  impersonal;  if  I  try  to  be  impersonal, 
I  am  accused  of  '  high-handed  selfishness  ' !  I  will  see 
humanity  only  as  instruments  and  will  ignore  person 
ality  and  personal  friendships.  I  will  crucify  personal 
love  and  ignore  lovers." 

Leaning  far  out  of  the  window,  she  looked  into  the 
all-pervading  mist.  Suddenly  it  became  a  surging,  bil 
lowing  sea. 

"  Look  deeper  still  into  the  pains  and  sorrows,"  it 
seemed  to  say  to  her  heart,  "  you  have  not  probed 
the  depths  when  you  stop  at  the  thought  of  pain.  The 
power  and  the  glory  are  underneath  the  suffering. 
Ignoring — that  will  never  help  you  find  them.  Search 
the  heart  of  pain  and  you  shall  find  help,  service,  co 
operation." 

"  God,  teach  me !  "  she  cried.  "  Ever  since  I  was 
a  little  child  I  have  sought — but  I  do  not  find." 

"Learn!" 

The  word  came  from  within — an  impression  as  dis 
tinct  as  a  speaking  voice.  A  faint  light  penetrated  the 
mist.  As  she  watched,  the  full  moon  appeared  in  a 
clear  sky.  Below  her,  not  a  church  steeple,  not  a  hill 
crest  were  visible. 

"  I  am  above  the  clouds !  "  She  gazed  from  the 
elevation  of  her  windows,  veering,  as  she  often  did 
— filled  now,  with  an  ecstasy  of  delight.  "  Just  you 
and  I,  dear  moon,  are  up  here  in  the  open.  If  only, 
I  could  always  be  above  the  fog!  Oh,  I  am  so  un 
utterably  lonely." 

Again,  she  dropped  her  head  upon  the  sill.  The 
complications  of  her  life  regarding  Philip  Herman 
seemed  but  one  of  a  thousand  struggling,  with  human 
intensity,  for  settlement. 

"God,  teach  me!" 

"  Learn/'  again  came  the  command  within  her. 


346  The  House  of  Landell 

"  Every  travail  of  desolation  gives  birth  to  higher 
understanding,  doubtless;  but  after  travail  comes  ex 
pression.  Is  that  true!"  she  challenged  herself. 
"  Does  not  the  travail  of  desolation  give  birth  to  deso 
lation!  Of  course  it  does.  It  is  the  conception  of 
Light  that  leads  to  the  birth  of  light  within  our  souls 
and  in  our  activities.  If  our  light  is  dim  our  expres 
sion  is  not  clearly  defined. 

"  I  make  myself  a  centre  of  God's  Light.  I  hold 
still  in  Thee,  O  Great  Creative  Power.  From  thy  cen 
tral  station,  use  me  as  distributing  force,"  she  prayed. 
"  That  Light  of  Thine,  I  hold  in  my  heart  for  the 
help  of  Philip  Herman.  I  am  not  the  maker  of  his 
destinies.  Thou  art  the  Master-Builder,  he  is  the 
mason  of  his  life.  I  bless  it  to  the  universal  purposes 
of  his  being." 

A  rare  quiet  succeeded  this  expression  of  the  soul. 
No  longer  forming  questions  or  preparing  answers, 
she  lived  in  spirit. 

She  sat  in  heavenly  stillness.  The  turbulence  of 
longing — the  attitude  of  seeking — slowly  yielded  to 
the  one  of  having — the  peace  that  passeth  understand 
ing.  The  tangle  of  thought  unraveled  slowly,  directed 
in  peace  from  and  toward  the  Great  Centre.  She 
knew  the  currents  were  flowing  to  her  and  from  her 
with  the  strength  of  the  Central  Power.  A  faith  en 
folded  her ;  a  trust  directed  her.  She  saw  not  the  facts 
that  might  arise  upon  her  path;  but  she  lived  in  the 
assurance  that  the  principle  of  Universal  Unity  will 
surely  evolve  in  universal  good." 

"  Where  is  Ross  Mevin?  " 

This  question,  clear  and  incisive,  borne  to  her  on 
the  currents  her  peace  was  allowing  to  flow  to  her,  was 
repeated. 

"  Why  think  of  him!  "  she  said,  irritably,  disturbed 
at  being  moved  from  out  the  state  of  heavenly  satis- 


The  House  of  Landell  347 

faction.  "  My  desire  to  learn  relates  to  spiritual  mat 
ters,  not  to  Ross  Mevin." 

"  No  man  cometh  to  the  Father  but  by  Me,"  sang 
through  her  heart.  "  That  means  the  universal  spirit 
found  in  humanity,"  she  returned,  aloud,  and  cava 
lierly  sought  to  turn  her  lesson  after  the  trend  of  what 
seemed  her  own  liking;  but,  as  always  the  case,  when 
mighty  currents  are  set  in  motion,  they  sweep  the  indi 
vidual  understanding  toward  the  sea  of  enlightenment. 
Thrice  came  the  question, 

"Where  is  Ross  Mevin?" 

"A  strange  response  to  my  giving  up  of  self!  I 
promised  myself  to  God  and  not  to  man." 

"Where  does  one  end  and  the  other  begin!  Has 
any  one  ever  found  the  dividing  line?  " 

"  To  humanity,  then,  and  not  the  individual." 

"  Who  knows  of  humanity,  excepting  through  the 
individual.  No  man  cometh  to  the  Father  but  by  Me. 
Jesus  dealt  in  personality.  His  work  was  with  the 
individual.  He  taught  universal  truths  by  means  of 
the  single  one.  He  came  to  earth  the  expression  of 
universal  truth  through  the  activities  of  the  individual. 
He  gave  us  the  right  of  selection  and  fitted  each  to 
each.  But  how  shall  we  learn  whom  we  can  serve  and 
who  shall  serve  us !  " 

"  Through  love,  learn !  " 

The  command  was  more  definite  than  an  articulate 
utterance.  She  answered  in  enunciated  words. 

"  He  has  never  given  me  sign  that  he  considers  me 
his  destiny." 

As  she  said  this  Tom's  words  of  the  afternoon  rang 
in  her  heart, — "  You  never  can  hear  love  speak,  your 
heart  is  so  beset  with  fear  and  self-condemnation." 

She  sprang  up,  appalled. 

"What  is  this  knowledge  struggling  within  me!" 


348  The  House  of  Landell 

she  cried.  "  This  vision  of  a  drive  in  the  sunset;  this 
rhapsody  of  infilling  joy!  " 

She  recalled  every  step  of  her  companionship  with 
Mevin  from  the  moment  of  meeting  him,  the  gradual 
slipping  into  friendliness  of  conventional  sort.  The 
light  across  the  fields  from  his  window  flashed  into 
remembrance;  his  rescue  at  her  hands,  his  comfort,  like 
balm  upon  her  wounded  heart  and  frightened  mind — 
all  the  soul  communion  which  she  never — such  stu 
pidity! — had  realized  to  be  other  than  simple  com 
radeship;  the  night  of  his  departure — his  words,  which 
she  had  heard  but  not  interpreted,  the  sense  of  abiding 
sweetness  and  rest  she  had  known  when  with  him,  but 
had  not  translated, — oh,  the  blindness  of  it  all !  Tears 
burned  behind  her  eyeballs  for  very  shame  that  she 
who  could  read  between  lines  should  see  nothing  in 
the  lines  themselves!  The  sorrowful  mystery  of  her 
life  was  revealed  through  this  lightning  blast  upon  her 
heart! 

"  I  have  cried  for  love  and  it  has  been  wooing  me 
for  many  days!  How  many  messages  have  I  failed 
to  hear  because  I  have  held  my  own  concept  of  my  in 
capacity  ever  before  my  mind!  " 

She  paced  to  and  fro  in  the  room.  From  the 
retrospection  of  her  life  entire,  her  mind  reverted  ever 
and  again  to  Ross  Mevin.  Here  was  a  blindness  that 
seemed  the  climaxing  folly  and  disaster  of  all. 

"I  must  be  impersonal!"  she  said,  over  and  over 
within  herself. 

Again  she  went  to  the  window.  The  mist  had 
cleared.  Down,  down,  far  below  what  she  had  seen 
before,  was  life, — the  life  of  the  village. 

"  Look  deep,"  said  the  teacher.  "  Look  deep  and 
learn." 

She  sat  long  and  silent,  dreaming  of  the  life  below 


The  House  of  Landell  349 

her.  As  she  turned  away,  she  touched  a  table  piled 
high  with  books.  The  jar  sent  them  careening  to  the 
floor.  She  caught  them  in  her  arms,  a  book  came 
open  to  her  hands.  She  looked  at  the  page. 

"  *  Marriage,'  "  she  read,  "  '  is  a  revelation  to  spir 
itual  consciousness  of  the  union  between  the  universal 
and  the  individual  idea.  It  leads  more  completely  than 
any  other  one  relation  to  the  understanding  of  the 
ideal.'  '  She  paraphrased  this,  as  her  eyes  fell  on 
the  words  in  the  book,  "  Agnes,  you  are  making  life 
a  series  of  practices,  exercises  and  definitions,  instead 
of  living  the  life.  Your  whole  existence  is  a  substi 
tution.  You  live  for  others,  bleed  for  others!  You 
need  to  live  the  very  self  of  very  self.  Would  a  mar 
riage  with  Philip  Herman  in  substitution  for  a  debt, 
or  your  marriage  with  any  man  other  than  Ross  Mevin 
translate  unity  to  you !  Can  you  learn  otherwise,  that 
only  the  ascent  to  the  highest  heights  of  the  imper 
sonal  can  teach  you  the  lesson  of  the  personal  or 
translate  unity  to  you !  " 

She  closed  her  eyes  and  prayed.  The  sense  of  cap 
tivity  grew  more  insistent.  She  saw  chains  which  she 
had  but  felt  before. 

"  You  are  under  the  law,"  came  a  voice  far,  far, 
within  her  consciousness.  "  It  is  the  law  of  growth. 
No  abstract  love;  but  its  concrete  expression  in  the 
various  relations  of  life,  alone  can  set  you  free." 

Again  she  looked  from  the  window.  The  lights 
in  the  village  homes  twinkled  lovingly;  the  voices  of 
playing  children  floated  to  her;  the  earth  sent  sweet 
aroma  to  her  nostrils ;  the  air  was  full  of  friendliness ; 
the  water  sent  messages  of  comradeship,  as  the  moon 
beams  played  radiantly  upon  its  surface;  the  low  fire 
which  took  the  chill  from  her  room  this  soft  fall  night 
sang  to  her  in  tones  of  comradeship;  the  interchange- 


350  The  House  of  Landell 

able  relationship  of  all  creation,  helped  and  helpers, 
spoke  to  her. 

"  God,  expressed  in  humanity, — in  human  loves,  in 
human  relations."  With  illumined  face  she  looked 
into  the  heavens  and  down  on  to  the  earth.  "  I  may 
express  my  own  heart !  It  is  best !  It  is  right !  " 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

"  /  thought  I'd  vanquished  mighty  love 

But  find  myself  deceived; 
For  every  hour,  alas!  I  prove 
The  conquest  unachieved." 

AGNES  fell  asleep  and  woke  just  in  time  to  prepare 
for  breakfast.  As,  filled  with  the  exaltation  the  re- 
vealment  of  the  night  before  had  brought  to  her  un 
derstanding,  she  took  her  seat  at  table,  her  father 
handed  her  an  envelope,  at  the  same  time  opening  a 
similar  one  of  his  own.  Her  heart  was  singing,  for 
love  was  showing  her  the  world  as  never  before.  She 
felt  such  happiness  speaking  from  her  eyes  that  she 
studiously  kept  them  on  her  plate,  lest  her  secret  be  dis 
closed. 

"  These  are  attractive  invitations,"  Mr.  Landell  was 
saying,  "  Mevin  is  a  fine  fellow.  He  deserves  the  best 
life  can  give.  I  hope  he  will  be  very  happy." 

Agnes'  hand  lost  its  hold  upon  the  missive  which 
she  had  not  opened.  It  dropped  to  the  table  where 
she  let  it  lie. 

"  Yes,"  she  said  faintly,  "  I  hope  that  for  every  one 
I  know." 

"  Such  a  man  is  sure  to  make  a  wise  choice  in  life. 
It  is  born  in  him." 

"  When  is  it  to  be  ?  "  Agnes  battled  with  a  strange 
darkness  that  enveloped  her. 

"  I  haven't  looked  at  the  date, — oh,  yes,  the  tenth." 

"Aren't  you  going  to  open  yours?"  said  her 
mother. 

"  Any  time  will  do.  I  suppose  they  are  all  the 
351 


352  The  House  of  Landell 

same."  Nervously  she  fingered  her  roll.  She  felt  as 
if  she  should  swoon. 

Mr.  Landell,  apparently  unaware  of  his  daughter's 
perturbation,  did  not  raise  his  eyes  from  the  announce 
ment. 

"  I  think  Hardocker  does  the  best  work  of  this  sort 
in  the  country,  don't  you,  Helen?  He  always  en 
graves  well  and  this  is  especially  pleasing." 

"  With  an  effort  of  will  Agnes  picked  up  her  en 
velope,  and  half  rose  from  the  table. 

"  I  must  go.  At  last  Hi-Timmy  has  money  to  buy 
the  satin  for  Amy's  roses.  I  am  to  take  both  children 
to  Boston,  this  morning,  and  we  are  to  select  it  to 
gether." 

Her  remarks  concluded  in  a  strangle  from  which 
she  strove  to  recover  by  speedy  recourse  to  a  glass  of 
water. 

"  What  shall  we  say  to  these  invitations  ?  "  Mr. 
Landell's  persistence  was  rather  unusual. 

"  I  should  like  to  go,"  was  Mrs.  Landell's  response. 
"  We  have  not  been  away  this  fall  and  it  will  be  a 
pleasant  trip." 

"  I  believe  I  won't  go,"  said  Agnes,  promptly.  "  Ex 
cuse  me,  mother,  I  will  get  ready  for  the  trip  to  town." 

"  Oh,  the  travesty  of  expecting  any  benefits  from 
personal  love!  "  she  sobbed  inwardly,  as,  with  the  door 
closing  behind  her,  she  struggled  with  her  emotions. 
"  My  love!  My  love!  I  awaked  last  night  to  the  joy 
of  loving  you, — too  late,  too  late !  " 

Hunting  up  Hi-Timmy  and  telephoning  Amy  not  to 
be  late  for  the  train  helped  her  to  regain  composure 
and  forget  herself  in  the  children's  joy.  Their  delight 
and  the  sense  of  self-respect  that  the  attainment  of  the 
end  in  view  had  given  Hi-Timmy,  were  an  interesting 
study  to  her.  She  watched,  with  interest,  the  little  air 
of  importance  with  which  Amy  settled  back  in  the 


The  House  of  Landell  353 

seat  of  the  car  when  they  had  really  started  and  the 
wheels  were  making  that  lovely  bumpy  feeling  under 
them,  that  made  you  know  you  were  truly  traveling. 

"  Where  shall  we  go  for  the  satin  ?  Have  you  any 
special  place  you  prefer,  Amy  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Miss  Landell,"  Amy  was  all  aquiver  with 
excitement,  "  I  think  the  best  stock  of  silks  in  the  whole 
city  is  at  Quirkle  &  Quake's." 

Her  manner  was  so  wholly  like  her  mother's  that 
Agnes  could  not  help  being  amused,  though  a  shudder 
ran  through  her  as  she  realized  that  the  day's  shop 
ping  lay,  not  in  the  cool  and  restful  select  shops  of 
her  choice,  but  in  the  hustling  department  stores  down 
town.  At  first  she  thought  of  urging  her  own  pref 
erence;  but  finally  decided  to  be  led  by  the  children, 
whose  delight  grew  with  each  added  responsibility. 

Once  in  the  unaccustomed  land  of  purchases,  Agnes' 
acute  heartache  was  submerged  in  the  joy  of  the  chil 
dren,  though  always,  the  dirge,  too  late!  sighed  through 
the  laughter  and  chatter.  Under  the  exhilaration  of 
their  enthusiasm  the  expedition  proved  nearly  as  in 
teresting  to  herself  as  to  them.  The  silks  were  spread 
upon  the  counters  in  a  profusion  of  colors  that  made 
Amy  almost  hysterical  with  joy;  and  her  first  decision, 
for  blue,  swerved  for  a  while.  She  alternated  in  hang 
ing  rapturously  over  them  in  silent  admiration,  and 
pirouetting  about  excitedly,  her  mind  as  active  as  her 
feet,  her  fancy  playing  in  and  out  in  "  sweet  delay 
of  choice." 

Hi-Timmy  stood  more  silent,  as  to  his  feet,  and  less 
expressive,  as  to  words,  but  in  equal  quandary  as  to 
choice.  He  had  not  cared  very  much  for  one  color, 
over  and  above  any  other,  but  when  Agnes  told  him 
they  were  made  of  the  same  something  as  sound, — an 
eternal  something  that  is  always  back  of  everything, 
and  recalled  to  hi.n  what  Tom  had  said  in  the  labora- 


354  The  House  of  Landell 

tory  that  first  afternoon,  now  almost  long  ago,  when 
he  had  received  intimation  that  he  was  a  vital  member 
in  a  household  of  harmony ;  and  lingered  on  what  Tom 
had  said  about  color  and  music  being  interchangeable, 
he  was  almost  overwhelmed  with  the  wonder  of  it.  It 
made  him  more  silent,  but  very  much  more  happy.  He 
did  not  recall  Tom's  statement,  in  one  sense,  but  in 
another,  he  did;  for,  without  consciously  realizing  it, 
he  had  been  drawing  the  thought,  as  an  elixir,  into  his 
very  existence. 

"  When  I  get  my  violin,  I  will  show  you  these  colors, 
Amy,"  he  whispered  in  a  shy  aside,  "  buy  that  one 
over  there." 

But  Amy,  with  a  sigh  at  having  to  relinquish  all 
the  other  beautiful  flashes  of  radiance,  decided,  after 
all,  on  the  blue. 

"  Are  you  taking  lessons,  now  ?  "  asked  Agnes,  while 
they  were  waiting  for  the  material  to  be  wrapped  up. 

"  No'm,  I  can't  afford  it.  I  only  took  enough  to 
make  my  other  roses.  That  is  why  I  felt  so  'specially 
bad  about  their  being  spoiled.  I  didn't  know  how  to 
make  any  more." 

"  Didn't  your  teacher  show  you  how  ?  " 

"  No'm,  she  did  them  for  me  mostly, — I  sorter 
helped." 

"  Let  me  teach  you  how  to  do  them  by  yourself, —  " 

"  I  guess  Miss  Cherry  will  be  glad  enough  to  get  me 
back,  if  only  for  a  few  lessons,"  went  on  the  child, 
reflectively,  in  the  pursuit  of  her  own  thought,  not 
hearing  Agnes'  words,  "  she's  dreadful  poor.  She 
will  give  me  six  lessons  for  two  dollars." 

Agnes  did  not  complete  her  sentence,  halted  before 
a  lesson  many  a  woman  with  a  competence  must  learn 
— that  the  acceptance  of  her  offer  would  mean  tak 
ing  bread  and  butter  from  one  who  needs  it.  She 
must  adopt  other  methods  of  teaching  color  and  nature 


The  House  of  Landell  355 

to  the  children  towards  whom  her  heart  was  reaching 
out  and  warming  strangely,  as  the  great  love  was 
withdrawn  from  her  at  the  very  moment  she  had  abso 
lutely  and  completely  realized  its  existence  and  its 
compelling  influence  in  her  life.  She  sighed,  then 
smiled  bravely,  through  unshed  tears. 

"  Next,  we  will  go  to  the  violin  maker's,"  she  said, 
after  the  wonderful  blue  satin  had  been  presented  to 
Amy  by  the  happy  Hi-Timmy  Tidmouse,  who  proudly 
tucked  into  his  pocket  twenty-nine  cents  in  change, 
his  gallant  offer  to  spend  the  same  in  cheap  candy  hav 
ing  been  skilfully  waived  by  Agnes,  who  promised  to 
go,  later  in  the  afternoon,  to  a  little  candy  kitchen, 
where  you  could  see  candy  made  out  of  the  purest  of 
materials,  while  you  wait. 

"  The  violin-maker  is  a  marvelous  man,"  she  coun 
selled,  as  they  climbed  the  steep  stairs  to  the  quaint 
old  shop,  "  perhaps  he  will  explain  how  sound  induces 
forms  of  entrancing  beauty  and  tell  us  what  I  sug 
gested  to  you  at  the  silk  counter, — about  color  and 
sound,  and  about  the  great  and  beautiful  truth  that 
every  wood  has  a  voice  of  its  own." 

The  violin-maker  was  very  kind.  He  loved  little 
people  and  he  loved  violins.  His  time  did  not  repre 
sent,  to  him,  money  alone;  but  sweetness  and  beauty 
and  rhythm  and  ideals.  Glad  enough  was  he  to  talk 
with  those  who  appreciated  the  worth  of  ideals  and 
wanted  to  learn  about  them. 

"  The  desire  to  associate  sounds  and  trace  an  idea 
through  that  medium,  as  you  explain  to  me,  he  loves 
to  do,  Fraulein,"  said  the  dear  old  German,  as  they 
stood  apart  while  the  children  were  delightedly  roam 
ing  undisturbed  about  the  workshop,  "  would  indicate 
that  the  making  of  instruments,  rather  than  the  mak 
ing  of  music  upon  them  through  musicianship,  compo 
sition  or  instrumentation  will  be  his  activity. 


356  The  House  of  Landell 

"  Alexander,"  he  turned  to  Hi-Timmy,  "  what  would 
you  think  of  my  teaching  you  to  mend  your  violin? 
There  will  be  much  of  pleasure  in  your  knowing  the 
very  heart  and  spirit  of  your  instrument,  and  mend 
ing  it  and  learning  to  make  others  will  give  you  very 
much  of  happiness." 

"  I  should  like  it,"  said  Timmy,  shyly,  yet  positively. 
So  it  was  planned  that,  if  Dr.  Wehr  approved,  he 
should  go  to  the  violin-maker  at  stated  periods,  and 
if  he  showed  any  aptitude  for  the  work,  should  be 
come  a  maker  of  violins. 

Then  the  master  showed  his  interested  visitors  dif 
ferent  sorts  of  woods,  as  Agnes  had  hoped  he  would. 
He  spoke  of  varying  qualities  of  sound  produced  ac 
cording  to  the  kinds  and  thicknesses  of  the  woods,  and 
called  to  their  attention  the  rhythms  of  different  lengths 
and  qualities  of  string.  His  mind  was  filled  with  rich, 
deep  philosophy,  and  his  heart  full  of  joy  at  their 
interest.  As  he  showed  them  these  wonders,  latent  in 
wood  and  string,  he  hinted — only  hinted — in  such 
manner  as  to  stimulate  their  desire  for  knowledge — 
of  the  lives  of  the  great  ones,  who  expressed  in  sound 
the  ideals  of  their  souls.  He  told  them  tales  of  Ole 
Bull,  the  wandering  Paganini,  the  Amati,  and  of  the 
Stradivarii  who  made  violins  to  the  glory  of  God ; — 
sent  all  this  to  join  other  memories  in  their  minds, 
thus  picturing  indelibly,  qualities  of  aspiration,  em 
bodied  in  thought  and  deed — the  secret  of  inspired 
lives. 

"  I  shall  withhold  the  completion  of  the  repairs,"  he 
said  aside,  to  Agnes,  as  the  children  were  trying  to 
synchronize  the  pitch  of  a  tuning  fork  with  that  of 
the  big  'cello.  "  Motion,  form  and  color  areas  shall 
have  attention  in  the  making  of  cell  and  tissue  until 
the  impressions  have  begun  to  reflect,  in  manifold  ac 
tivity  of  those  functions  the  sounding  of  the  iron 


The  House  of  Landell  357 

string  of  self-reliance  and  the  perfectly  tuned  string 
of  joy.  You  see,  Fraulein,"  with  a  winning  gesture 
of  his  handsome  head,  "  it  is  only  by  way  of  becom 
ing  a  little  child  that  one  enters  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
So,  true  it  is,  that  if  the  boy  comes  to  me  to  learn,  he 
shall,  each  day,  listen  for  the  Key  Note,  to  see  if  he 
lives  true  to  It,  even  as  now,  he  is  listening  to  the  tun 
ing  fork  to  see  if  the  'cello  accords  with  it." 

When  they  had  started  for  home,  Agnes  felt  the 
desolation  the  excitement  of  the  afternoon  had,  in  a 
sense,  submerged,  coming  to  the  surface  again.  She 
bade  the  children  good-bye,  and  entering  the  house 
went  at  once  to  the  great  organ.  Seating  herself  upon 
the  bench,  she  filled  the  rooms  with  sound,  through 
which  a  strange  cry  insistently  penetrated. 

"The  travesty  of  love!  The  tragedy  of  love!  A 
constant  sacrifice!  A  constant  crucifixion!  I  re 
nounce  humanity!  "  She  pulled  out  the  diapason  and 
poured  forth  her  agony  in  the  waves  of  sound. 
"'I  go  away!  I  send  the  Comforter,'"  she  quoted. 
"  The  deeper  the  tragedy,  the  heart-break,  the  desola 
tion,  of  that  we  must  renounce — the  touch  of  the  hand, 
the  smile,  the  pressure  of  tender  lips  against  these  lips 
that  breathe  and  burn  love  into  the  soul — the  more 
scorching  the  flame  that  desolates  that  soul  from  valley 
to  hill-top — the  more  space  of  spirit  for  the  Comforter 
to  fill;  the  more  absolute  the  renunciation;  the  more 
absolutely  the  Great  Impersonality  of  the  Universal 
infills  us.  I  renounce  the  personal!  I  renounce  it! 
Renounce  it !  Life  is  a  constant  crucifixion !  My  Jesus 
is  still  a  man  of  sorrows,  acquainted  with  grief !  I 
must  mount  the  universal  cross  and  suffer  even  as  He 
has  suffered.  His  was  a  life  of  constant  sacrifice.  He 
placed  His  life  where  it  would  bless,  not  where  it 
would  bring  Him  pleasure!  That  is  to  be  truly  un 
selfish!  If  this  newly- found  love  of  mine  is  taken 


358  The  House  of  Landell 

from  me  it  must  be  to  lead  me  into  paths  of  helpful 
ness  and  self-abnegation.  What  is  there  in  my  life 
for  which  I  must  atone!  I  have  ruined  Philip  Her 
man's  self-respect  before  the  world!  I  see  more  and 
more  plainly  that  I  am  to  devote  myself  to  restoring 
it,  to  honoring  it ;  to  supporting  it  in  its  worldly  needs- 
and  spiritual  leadings." 

So  dissonance  of  mind  and  of  instrumentation  re 
solved  into  dissonance,  slowly  and  intricately  moving 
toward  consonance,  as  she  wandered  about  in  the  blind 
ness  that  enveloped  her.  The  chords  cried  forth  her 
agony  and  died  in  a  wail  of  discord;  the  pedals  quiv 
ered  as  they  were  trampled  beneath  the  feet  that 
struggled  to  bear  the  burden  of  her  weight  away  from 
this  sounding  board  of  her  despair  to  the  seclusion  of 
her  room.  She  stumbled  up-stairs  with  a  plea  of  ex 
haustion  to  her  mother,  who,  puzzled  and  concerned, 
passed  her  at  the  turn  in  the  hall. 

"  I  don't  see  what  you  base  your  conclusions  on — 
that  Agnes  is  in  love  with  Ross  Mevin,"  she  said,  seek 
ing  her  husband.  "  She  has  been  making  as  many 
discords  on  the  organ  as  she  does  in  her  love-making 
and  now  has  gone  to  her  room  with  such  utter  aban 
donment  of  all  life's  joys  on  her  face  that  I  don't  know 
whether  to  follow  her  or  not !  It  is  a  most  lamentable 
thing  to  be  imbued  with  the  idea  that  holy  living  means 
seeking  the  unpleasant  and  miserable  for  oneself!  I 
wish  she  could  learn  better!  Talk  to  me  now  about 
this  dreadful  Herman  chimera  she  has  in  her  brain  and 
try  to  encourage  me  about  Mevin !  " 

"  I  consider  the  affair  a  most  interesting  psycholog 
ical  study !  "  returned  Mr.  Landell,  a  happy  light  in 
his  beautiful  eyes. 

"  You  are  an  inhuman  father !  "  Lovingly,  Mrs. 
Landell  ruffled  her  husband's  hair,  as  she  often  did, 


The  House  of  Landell  359 

when  she  liked  and,  at  the  same  time,  was  teased  by 
him. 

"  A  remarkable  psychological  study,"  he  repeated. 
"  They  who  say,  '  Sally,  will  you  marry  me  ? '  and, 
*  Yes,  John,  I  will,'  are  elementary,  Helen.  These  two 
are  complex." 

"  I  suspect  the  Sallies  and  the  Johnnies  have  far 
less  troublous  times." 

"  I  do  not  know  about  that!  If  you  and  I  were  ab 
solutely  sure  there  was  nothing  more  in  either  of  us 
to  unfold,  we  might  tire  of  each  other.  You  are  full 
of  surprises  to  me  and  I  suspect  I  am  a  Chinese  puzzle 
to  you !  " 

"  Why  is  it  that  persons  like  Agnes  and  Mevin, 
whom  the  Lord  simply  made  for  each  other,  haven't 
the  slightest  idea  of  love-making!  Agnes  seems  so 
wise  she  appals  me,  yet  lacks  knowledge  in  so  many 
things  the  average  schoolgirl  seems  quite  assured  of! 
I  wish  she  would  stop  this  incessant  puzzling  over 
every  passing  event.  It  is  unnatural  for  a  woman  not 
to  know  when  a  man  is  in  love  with  her  and  to  ignore 
her  very  counterpart — if  there  is  such  a  thing — 

"I  do  not  fear!  Let  her  'lie  in  the  lap  of  the 
great  Intelligence ! '  The  Universal  Mother  has  a 
broader  vision  than  the  little  mother,  dear  and  wise 
though  she  be!  " 

"  I  want  her  to  live  more  outside  of  herself, — to  go 
about  among  people." 

"  She  is  doing  that  in  her  own  way." 

"  She  used  to  be  active  in  so  many  directions —  " 

"  Now  she  accomplishes  more  than  ever  before,  but 
is  conserving  her  forces.  She  is  responding  with  dis 
cretion  to  demands — no  longer  permits  herself  to  be 
indiscriminately  at  the  beck  and  call  of  others— 

"  She  is  losing  her  friends — 

"  To  find  them  again  in  the  finding  of  herself." 


360  The  House  of  Landell 

"  She  has  almost  entirely  dropped  her  music." 

"  To  study,  in  the  very  heart  of  its  making,  the 
divine  principles  of  its  expression." 

"  She  is  held,  alternately,  in  attacks  of  exaltation 
and  depression — 

"  Less  than  for  years." 

"  For  a  woman  of  her  reserve  she  is  at  times 
strangely  communicative  of  her  mental  processes.  She 
loses  her  sense  of  proportion —  " 

"  To  find  it  in  the  same  Mind  which  is  in  the  Christ, 
Helen,  Agnes  is  not  studying  herself.  Therein,  you 
and  many  others  misunderstand  her  and  her  type. 
She  is  studying  processes  through  available  channels. 
She  is  as  much  an  impersonal  subject  as  if  no  part  of 
herself.  What  seems  self -consciousness  is  lack  of  self- 
consciousness,  as  she  reaches  out  for  universal  con 
sciousness.  Though  her  questionings  are  suggested  by 
contact  with  the  world,  her  answers  come  from  the 
inner  places  of  the  Most  High.  She  is  conscious  of 
states  crude  minds  do  not  know  exist,  or  else  allow 
themselves  to  be  dominated  by.  Soon,  she  will  deliber 
ately  make  up  her  mind  to  forget  what  has  served  its 
purpose  in  the  making  of  character.  She  has  been  in 
the  period  of  remembering;  but,  for  the  initiate,  there 
is  the  period  of  forgetting,  as  well.  She  feels  the  pres 
ence  of  other  entities  and  her  mind  responds  to  such 
an  extent  that  she  is  actually  surrounded  by  a  cloud  of 
witnesses.  Like  all  great  souls,  she  constantly  assumes 
the  burdens  of  the  race.  Now  she  is  learning  that  one 
may  not  do  this  and  thus  deprive  others  of  the  right  to 
work  out  their  own  salvation." 

"  Unprincipled  men  seem  to  know  so  much  better 
how  to  attain  their  ends  than  honest  ones  who  accord 
the  right  of  the  individual.  Did  you  ever  really  con 
sider,  Daniel,  that  a  girl  of  eighteen  must  fence  with 
pastmasters  of  diplomacy  well  acquainted  with  the  art 


The  House  of  Landell  361 

of  making  love;  must  treat  all  with  kindness;  retain 
their  friendship ;  in  no  way  rouse  antagonism  or  enmity 
by  repressing  natural  expression,  or  compromise  char 
acter  or  reputation  by  permitting  it.  Ignorance  or 
lack  of  judgment  affords  no  excuse.  Wholly  unin 
formed  she  must  dominate  the  emotions  awakened  by 
the  magnetic  personalities  of  the  good  men,  and  their 
desire-impelling  influence,  or  the  chloroforming  mach 
inations  of  the  bad.  She  is  supposed  to  make  her  life 
choice  with  a  view  both  to  moral  and  worldly  consid 
erations  ;  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  distinguish  between 
spiritual  power  and  physical  attraction — which  men 
and  women  of  maturity  often  cannot  do.  She  is  sup 
posed  to  select  true  love  with  all  its  concomitants,  and 
bring  it  to  capitulation.  Commanders-in-chief  of  the 
armies  of  the  world  are  called  upon  to  do  little  more." 
"  So  it  will  be  while  mankind  magnifies  sex  in 
stead  of  realizing  that  it  is  but  one  of  millions  of  ex 
pressions  of  creative  power.  Every  day,  I  realize  more 
clearly  the  ideal  embodied  in  the  Immaculate  Concep 
tion.  Struggling  into  consciousness,  through  the  stages 
of  cell-attraction;  awareness;  of  instinct;  of  uncon 
trolled,  inordinate  desire;  of  legitimatized  lust;  of  re 
ligious  symbolism;  into  that  of  controlled,  emotional 
utilization  of  creative  power,  life  has  not  known  how 
to  comprehend  its  next  attainment — '  the  foreshadow 
ing  of  Holy  Spirit.'  It  has  needed  just  men,  like 
Joseph,  to  protect  the  Ideal.  To-day,  men  and  women 
are  learning  that  women  must  be  overshadowed  by 
Holy  Spirit,  which  shall  say,  '  conceive  and  bear  a 
child  ' — whether  embodied  as  a  being  or  a  deed — be 
fore  she  can  rightfully  receive  man's  executive  action, 
also  overshadowed  by  Holy  Spirit.  Helen,  we  are 
rising  out  of  a  religion  of  feeling;  of  a  physical  heaven 
or  hell;  of  promises  of  sensuous  bliss;  even  the  de 
lights  of  mental  visioning,  into  the  spiritual  teachings 
of  the  Christ." 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

"But  this  much  has  been  revealed  to  us  in  the 
new  Light  of  Life,  that  it  is  not  the  cold  '  mental ' 
affirmation  that  brings  health  to  the  bones  and 
watering  to  the  marrow.  It  is  the  soul-joy,  the 
heart-satisfaction., — it  is  Love,  expressed  in  the 
Life  that  does  this." 

THAT  night,  the  name  of  Ross  Mevin  rang  persis 
tently  in  Agnes'  ears.  As  never  before,  she  realized 
that  in  her  strained,  puzzled,  mental  search  for  truth, 
she  herself  had  been  withholder  of  the  vision  and  the 
illumination.  So  often  brave  in  the  emergencies  of 
life,  of  which  there  had  been  many;  so  often  straining 
to  see  and  follow  God's  will,  this  night  she  gave  way,  as 
never  before,  to  the  heart-break  of  her  despair.  She 
loved  Ross  Mevin !  Loved  him !  How  could  she  give  him 
up !  She  could  feel  the  touch  of  his  hand  as  he  helped 
her  across  the  roadway;  she  looked  into  the  dark,  to 
see  shining  therefrom,  his  eyes,  gazing  deeply  into  her 
own,  mutely  asking  in  a  language  she  should  have  un 
derstood  for  her  love  which  she  had  withheld.  She 
heard  his  voice  rich  with  character  and  vibrant  with 
emotion  appealing  for  her  heart,  while  she  bestowed 
upon  him  the  stone  of  her  intellect !  A  wave  of  humil 
iation  swept  over  her  as  she  realized  that  she  was  now 
appropriating  to  herself  a  gift  he  no  longer  offered  to 
her  but  was  bestowing  on  another.  Aside  from  the 
broken-heartedness  of  it  all  there  was  an  anti-climax 
about  it  that  humiliated  her.  It  was  beyond  endur 
ance,  and  increased,  a  thousand- fold,  the  torture  of  a 
heart  alive  and  bleeding  with  its  loss.  Her  fancy 

362 


The  House  of  Landell  363 

played  in  the  galleries  of  her  mind  until  it  gathered 
feature  and  form  for  a  photograph  of  the  woman  who 
had  recognized  the  value  of  the  soul  she  had  cast  aside. 
A  passion,  new  to  her,  clutched  her,  and,  horror- 
stricken,  she  knew  it  to  be  hate.  It  rose'  in  her  as 
the  vaporous  steam,  rising  from  simmering  water, 
fills  the  vessel  and  suffocates  the  victim  in  the  boil 
ing  vat.  She  strangled  as  she  fought  against  the 
desire  to  kill, — to  kill  the  one  who  held  the  place  she 
felt  was  hers  and  hers  alone. 

After  long  hours,  her  inherent  integrity  slowly  as 
serted  itself.  Like  dawn  stealing  over  the  mountain 
tops,  spiritual  light  flowed  slowly  in,  transmuting  the 
venom  of  hate,  and  softly  but  surely  illumining  the 
darkness  of  her  emotions.  Wavering,  pulsing,  as  when 
the  light  first  sends  its  penetrating  presence  into  the 
great  dark  to  mold  and  shape  figures  and  forms 
of  beauty  and  of  helpfulness,  just  by  possessing  space, 
so,  inoculating  the  heartache  with  resignation,  came 
the  knowledge,  as  never  before,  that  there  had  been 
One  upon  earth  who,  through  His  sorrows,  under 
stood  what  she  might  know  of  sorrow.  He  suf 
fered;  she  would  suffer.  He  came  only  that  she  and 
those  like  her  might  learn  the  lesson  of  renunciation. 

Long  she  lay  submerged  in  her  atmosphere  of  sub 
ordination.  Suddenly,  she  shook  off  this  supineness 
and  took  on  the  armor  of  courage.  What  had  Jesus 
meant  when  He  said  '  Follow  Me ! '  Surely,  not  to 
remain  on  the  cross  where  misunderstanding  had  cruci 
fied  Him !  It  was  to  follow  Him  to  realms  of  trans 
figuration!  Life  must  flow  more  and  more  wisely 
into  new  understandings  and  beautiful  experiences, 
v, -holly  unlike  the  tragic,  tinselly  expressions '  of  ab 
orted  thought.  Was  not  this  the  lesson  that  Jesus 
could  not  teach  the  multitude,  nay,  not  even  the  dis 
ciples, — because  not  until  one  has  reached  the  heights 


364  The  House  of  Landell 

of  Impersonality,  can  one  understand  the  intense  mes 
sage  of  personality, — of  the  individual !  Was  this  the 
very  secret  she  had  been  striving  to  struggle  away 
from, — the  truth,  that  the  loving  of  the  individual  in 
all  different  relationships,  is,  step  by  step,  entrance  into 
the  holy  of  holies  of  the  Universal,  and  that  it  is  this 
loving,  as  well  as  the  being  loved,  that  raises  man  to 
the  supernal  realms  of  life! 

She  lay  back,  exhausted,  on  the  pillows.  Little  by 
little  a  tender  benediction  overshadowed  her.  Her 
mind  left  her  own  problems.  Her  heart  dwelt  on  the 
Jesus,  whose  life,  as  she  saw  it  in  the  light  of  this  reve 
lation,  was  like  the  life  of  every  man;  temptation  fol 
lowing  every  new  plane  of  attainment;  isolation  fol 
lowing  every  new  phase  of  growth;  rejection  by  men 
following  the  discernment  of  each  truth  in  the  chain 
of  All-Truth.  So,  in  her  life,  each  step  forward  had 
been  succeeded  by  new  heart-breaking  ordeals. 
Through  His  life,  she  followed  mankind,  at  every  turn 
in  its  career, — years  of  preparation,  of  testing  ideals, 
days  of  triumph,  of  failure  and  despair,  even  as  His 
brothers  have  striven  since  the  world  began. 

She  recalled  the  culmination  of  one  phase  of  His 
life,  when,  at  thirty,  He  had  unfolded  from  the  dis 
ciple  to  a  Christ,  as  is  possible  for  all  daughters  and 
sons  of  God.  Where  lesser  ones  have  seemed  to  lie 
buried  in  their  own  ruins,  He  proved  His  possibilities 
and  lifted  a  seeming  failure  into  a  redeeming  lesson 
for  the  ages.  He  saved  men  from  a  low  conception  of 
their  inherent  selves ;  He  dissipated  the  idea  of  separa 
tion  from  the  Father;  He  revealed  the  inheritance  of 
their  power  through  oneness  of  substance — quality — 
with  their  Origin.  The  narrowness  of  life  as  limited 
by  a  human  embodiment  fell  from  her  as  she  lay 
there.  She  saw  that  the  "  Christ  of  the  human  heart, 
is,  for  the  most  part,  Jesus,  seen  in  the  mystic  human 


The  House  of  Landell  365 

Christ,  struggling,  suffering,  dying,  finally  triumphant, 
the  Alan  in  whom  humanity  is  seen,  crucified  and 
risen;  whose  victory  is  a  promise  of  victory  to  every 
one  who  like  Him,  is  faithful  unto  death, — and  be 
yond, — The  Christ,  who  never  can  be  forgotten,  while 
He  is  born  again  and  again  in  humanity;  while  the 
world  needs  saviours  and  saviours  give  themselves  for 
men." 

She  saw  this  God-Man  spring  out  of  the  darkness, 
strong  to  help  His  brother,  able  to  pour  His  life  into 
every  struggling  soul. 

"  Courage,  brothers,"  she  heard  Him  say,  "  I,  Jesus, 
Man-God,  have  trod  the  way  before  you.  I  have 
proved  that  it  can  be  trod.  I  have  shown,  by  my  ex 
ample,  that  you  and  I  are  one  in  God.  I  have  done 
nothing  different  from  many  and  many  of  you;  I  have 
gone  on,  out  of  your  physical  sight  and  present  under 
standing  as  you  do,  every  day,  to  those  about  you,  as 
you  grow.  This  must  give  you  courage  when  you 
seem  to  lose  those  about  you,  and,  yourself,  seem  to  be 
lost.  It  will  prove  what  I  am  striving,  still,  to  teach 
you,  that  we  have  no  right  to  force  any  manifesta 
tion,  through  indiscriminate  bestowal  of  life-essence 
and  purpose,  in  any  direction  of  self -depletion,  or  self- 
immolation  upon  the  altar  of  a  semi-ideal.  Only  that 
idea  is  complete  which  leads  to  life  of,  not  to  death 
of  self.  I  live  on,  as  do  you,  without  let  or  pause;  but 
few  there  be  who  see  Me,  few  there  be  who  know  Me." 

She  sat  up  in  bed  and  threw  back  her  beautiful  hair 
with  an  attitude  new  to  her  who  had  sought,  so  con 
stantly,  to  renounce  all. 

"  I 'give  myself  as  never  before,"  she  said  aloud,  "  I 
save  myself  for  the  service  of  mankind  in  just  and 
righteous  exchange,  not  squandering,  unconstructively. 
I  have  sat  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross;  I  have  taken  Jesus 
down  and  mounted  it  myself;  what  helpful  exchange 


366  The  House  of  Landell 

in  that!  None!  I  will  fix  my  eyes  on  Him  as  a 
radiant,  luminous  Ideal,  where  once  I  saw  a  cross 
suspended  in  the  air;  but,  now,  with  the  cross  faded 
quite  away  and  as  one  apart,  I  will  minister  to  and 
realize  the  Universal,  through  mankind." 

Her  mind  was  full  of  this  expression  of  God  in  the 
individual,  when  she  went  to  the  dining-room  the  next 
morning.  The  newly-acquired  understanding  of  Unity 
had  given  to  her  bearing  a  quality  of  coherence  that, 
notwithstanding  its  former  nobility  it  had  never  pos 
sessed.  The  forehead,  almost  massively  masculine, 
that  always  had  seemed  at  war  with  the  tenderness 
of  the  delicate  chin,  was  won  into  copartnership  by 
the  eyes  that  spoke  a  new  message  and  called  the  chin 
forward  and  upward  to  send  it  on  its  way.  The  child 
like  simplicity  was  more  clearly  marked  than  ever  on 
the  beautifully  rounded  cheek  and  the  curve  toward 
the  exquisitely  dimpled  indentures  below  the  lower 
lip.  The  lips,  moulded  with  the  purity  of  thought 
of  one  who  from  babyhood  had  moved  them,  always, 
in  life  and  thought,  in  the  utterance,  "  Our  Father," 
had  gained,  in  the  night,  a  strength  that  but  added  to 
their  beauty  as  she  realized  and  spoke  of  Him,  now, 
as  no  abstract  principle  but  as  the  Living  God.  Her 
voice  was  vibrant  with  new  resolve  as  she  passed  the 
good  mornings,  then  seated  herself. 

"  Father,"  she  said,  "  what  relation  has  fact  to  prin 
ciple?" 

"  Fact  is  transitory  expressing  of  an  Eternal  Idea. 
Principle  is  the  fount  whence  flow  many  streams,  merg 
ing,  lost  and  found  in  constantly  changing  forms  and 
relations.  The  fact  as  we  see  it,  tabulates  our  con 
sciousness  of  principle.  The  longer  I  live,"  thought 
fully  Mr.  Landell  laid  down  his  knife  and  fork,  "  the 
more  convinced  I  am  that  it  is  truth,  not  experience, 


The  House  of  Landell 


367 


which  teaches.  We  need  not  impel  unfortunate  inci 
dents  into  expression  for  the  sake  of  learning  the  les 
sons  they  embody.  An  intelligent  insight  into  principle 
will  lead  into  ways  of  pleasantness  and  paths  of  peace. 
Every  bit  of  wisdom,  of  influence,  of  contact  in  higher 
spheres,  is  experience,  rather  than  the  external  demon 
stration  of  an  unhappy  life,  a  tragedy  of  unlicensed 
passion,  the  slime  of  the  divorce  court,  the  ignominy 
of  a  blasted  progeny." 

"  We  do  expect  to  follow  a  map  of  some  sort,  or, 
at  least,  mile-posts  in  going  from  here  to  Worcester, 
don't  we,"  said  Tom.  "  But  in  the  affairs  of  life  we 
seem  willing  to  follow  all  sorts  of  blind  alleys,  hit  or 
miss." 

'  Yes,  and  if,  in  sheer  despair,  we  finally  charter  in 
telligence  to  guide  us  to  the  highway,  some  claim  that 
experience  has  been  the  guide,  meaning  the  untoward 
incidents  to  which  blindness  to  the  teachings  of  prin 
ciple  has  led  us.  On  the  contrary,  the  waste  of  energy 
delayed  the  pilgrim  on  the  way." 

"  True,"  said  Tom,  "  the  child  stumbles  in  learning 
to  walk ;  but  when  he  coordinates  right  processes  with 
right  instruments,  and  uses  his  motor  centres  to  a 
definite  and  desired  end  for  the  best  direction  and  use 
of  his  activities,  he  is  led,  logically,  to  the  goal  of  his 
intent, —  " 

"  Not  because  he  strengthened  his  muscles  by 
tumbles  and  mistakes ;  but  because  he  is  systematically 
applying  the  law  of  locomotion.  I  do  not  say  that 
we  do  not  trace  truth  through  events,  I  say  truth  is 
the  teacher.  If  you  wish  me  to  believe  to  the  con 
trary,  prove  that  two  and  two  are  four  by  continuing 
to  pay  five  dollars  for  two  two-dollar  theatre  tickets." 

"  That  is  easy,"  laughed  Mrs.  Landell.  "  It  is  by 
coming  to  the  limit  of  the  theatre  allowance  before 
the  close  of  the  season." 


368  The  House  of  Landell 

"  It  does  not  even  teach  that,  specifically ;  it  takes 
knowledge  that  two  and  two  are  four  to  enable  us  to 
discover  why  the  money  hasn't  held  out,"  said  Mr. 
Landell,  in  repartee. 

"  I'd  be  willing  to  take  a  few  whacks  at  experience, 
even  on  the  basis  of  its  meaning  what  happens  to  us," 
said  Tom,  a  glint  of  fire  in  his  eye,  "  my  life  has  been 
so  dully  prosaic, — everything  coming  straight  to  my 
hand.  Either  I  was  born  with  the  golden  spoon  of 
spiritual  heredity,  or  I  have  been  fairly  successful  in 
well-directed,  conscious  choice.  I  should  really  like 
an  experience  that  is  a  happen,  or  a  direct  outcome 
of  an  unwise,  undirected,  or  misdirected  choice —  " 

"  Oh,  Tom !  "  An  expression  of  torture  passed 
swiftly  over  his  father's  face,  which,  flitting  out  as 
quickly  as  it  came,  gave  way  to  his  natural  calm.  "  As 
you  wish,  it  shall  be  given  you,"  he  concluded. 

"  Honestly,  I  should  like  to  test  myself  in  other 
than  the  manner  that  is  usual  to  me.  I  may  be  imag 
ining  I  am  free  from  weaknesses  and  the  taint  of  ex 
ternal  mistakes,  because  of  my  directed  activity.  That 
may  not  be  so,— 

"  We  need  not  lay  traps  nor  dig  pitfalls  for  our 
feet." 

"  Follow  your  own  advice  which  is  saving  me  from 
a  demonstration  of  tragedy,"  Agnes  caught  up  her 
brother's  words  with  the  same  intensity  that  her  father 
had  done ;  but  without  his  prompt  return  to  tranquillity. 
"  I  am  going  to  repeat  your  words  to  you,— 

"  '  You  and  I  are  here  to  prove  that  pure  aspiration 
and  trust,  inherent  selection,  spiritual  comprehension 
and  apprehension  do  prevent  wreckage  of  life  such  as 
yours  must  be,  should  you  permit  yourself  to  be  drawn 
into  horrible  phenomena  of  experience  through  the  ac 
ceptance  of  any  other  guides.' ' 


The  House  of  Landell  369 

There  was  a  moment  of  thoughtful  silence,  then  Mr. 
Landell  said, 

"  What  shall  we  do  about  these  invitations  of 
Mevin's?  I  think  your  mother  and  I  will  accept.  His 
father  was  my  chum  at  college  and  I  should  like  to 
see  him  on  his  way." 

"  Let's  all  go,"  urged  Tom. 

"  Oh,  no !  "  Agnes'  exclamation  came  like  a  cry  of 
pain,  which  she  covered  quickly.  "  I  really  couldn't ! 
I  have  no  suitable  gown." 

"  A  woman  always  makes  that  excuse,"  scoffed  Tom. 
"Get  one!" 

"  I  am  in  no  mood  to  stand  for  hours,  this  divine 
weather,  planning  a  wedding-reception  gown,"  Agnes 
replied,  and  a  line  of  gray  traced  itself  about  her 
trembling  lips. 

Mr.  Landell  studiously  regarded  his  plate;  but  her 
mother  looked  at  her  with  a  quick  glance  of  relief 
and  satisfaction. 

"  You  always  do  leap  chasms  in  your  conversation, 
Agnes,  and  it  takes  an  alert  mind  to  follow  you.  I 
confess  I  cannot  trace  the  relation  between  weddings 
and  these  invitations  to  the  dedication  of  a  memorial 
building, — what  is  it  dear !  "  for  Agnes  had  reeled  and 
would  have  fallen  from  her  chair  if  her  father  had 
not  reached  out  and  caught  her. 

"  Just  a  passing  faintness,"  said  Agnes,  bravely. 
"  Tell  me  about  all  this.  I  quite  neglected  to  open  my 
envelope  yesterday,  and  know  nothing  about  it." 

Her  pride  forbade  her  capitulating  before  the  fam 
ily,  so  she  wrote  formal  regrets  to  the  invitation  and 
put  the  envelope  in  the  mail  pouch,  locking  it  with 
a  reluctant  click. 

"  I  am  sorry  we  are  not  going  to  Mevin's." 
Tom,  the  next  time  he  met  her.    "  I  think  I  should  be 
tempted  if  I  had  not  promised  Cousin  Matilda  to  see 


370  The  House  of  Landell 

her  off  to  the  town  for  the  winter  and  stay  there  over 
night  to  protect  the  silver  and  other  valuables  she  re 
fuses  to  send  to  the  bank.  Nothing  would  induce  her 
to  delay  or  advance  by  one  hour  the  time  of  her  de 
parture.  She  sails  out  at  a  submarine  hour  of  the 
morning,  so  I  am  to  go  there  the  day  father  and  mother 
leave.  It  takes  days  to  shut  up  the  house  to  suit 
Cousin  Matilda.  It's  a  pity  you  sent  regrets.  You 
would  enjoy  seeing  what  a  fine  pottery  Mevin  is  mak 
ing  with  his  talents." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  puzzled  Agnes. 

"  I  believe  this  whole  wonderful  civic  centre  he  is 
making  of  a  little  down-trodden,  broken-down,  fever- 
ridden  mill  town  is  the  direct  outgrowth  of  your  call 
for  teacups  at  the  prayer-meeting  that  summer  night, 
—how  long  ago  it  seems !  When  you  dug  up  a  talent 
that  night  to  examine  it,  you  did  not  know  a  whole 
pottery  was  to  be  set  to  work  in  its  tomb,  making  clay 
into  men  and  women,  did  you !  " 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  mean.  Who  is  making 
men  and  women  out  of  clay?  " 

"  Ross  Mevin.  His  father  left  him  a  lot  of  money- 
making,  disease-breeding  mill  property.  It  is  becom 
ing  one  of  the  most  remarkable  civic  centres  in  the 
world.  The  exhibitions  of  landscape  and  market  gar 
dens  were  very  remarkable  last  year  and  the  town  voted 
salaries  to  some  of  the  prize-winners  for  keeping  plots 
as  public  parklets.  What  is  the  matter  ?  Are  you  ill  ? 
You  look  fairly  green  you  are  so  white.  I  am  sorry 
you  did  not  decide  to  go.  Can't  I  get  your  refusal 
out  of  the  box  for  you?  No,  it's  too  late.  I  saw 
the  postman  gathering  up  the  mail  nearly  twenty  min 
utes  ago." 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

"  Why  travel  over  seas  to  find  what  is  so  near, 
Love  is  the  only  good,  love  and  the  blessed  here." 

THE  train  moved  rhythmically  through  the  beauti 
ful  hill  country,  misty  mountains  and  chains  of  lakes, 
with  here  and  there  broad  sweeps  of  rivers,  making 
a  scene  of  ever  varying  beauty.  At  a  station,  nestled 
among  flowering  shrubs  and  brilliant  foliage,  Ross 
Mevin  was  awaiting  the  Landells,  who  had  reached 
Lodesminster  the  day  before  the  memorial  exercises. 
Well-knit,  with  the  poise  of  power,  and  the  power  of 
poise,  he  rested  lightly  but  firmly  on  his  feet,  with  eyes 
that  knew  the  puzzles  and  mazes  of  life  and  had  set 
themselves  well  upon  the  way  to  the  solving  thereof. 

With  all  the  clarity  of  vision,  there  was  a  shadow  far 
back  behind  the  mists  of  longing  that  told  the  tale. 
The  attitude  of  seeking  is  one,  of  having  is  another. 
The  taking-in  of  a  long  vista  with  shadows  and  lights 
gave  a  searching  longing  to  the  eyes  that  seemed  apart 
from  the  healthy  buoyancy  of  the  man.  It  never  failed 
to  show  itself,  but  only  as  a  falling  star  to  disappear 
even  as  the  beholder  strives  to  point  it  out.  It  came 
and  went  like  a  flash  as  he  bent  over  Mrs.  Landell's 
hand,  then  took  Mr.  Landell's  in  his  friendly  grasp. 

A  moment,  and  they  were  bowling  down  a  street  of 
matchless  cleanliness,  with  great  trees  boughing  in 
gothic  arches  above  and  over  them.  Everywhere  were 
incipient  signs  of  a  great  cooperative  plan  that  was 
unfolding  for  utility,  beauty  and  harmonizing  of  hu 
man  needs  with  ideals.  Great  marshes,  freed  from 


372  The  House  of  Landell 

deadly  miasma,  were  disclosing  their  fertility  instead 
of  the  hydra  of  pestilence  to  the  country  round  about. 
Forests  of  first-growth  pines  and  hemlocks  were  be 
coming  parks  for  the  people.  These  were  carefully 
cleared  so  as  to  leave  the  pristine  beauty,  holding 
within  its  bounds,  by  firm  and  loving  interlacing  of  the 
roots  with  mother  earth,  the  water  bed  of  the  river 
that  ran  through  the  town.  Meadow  lands  were  dotted 
with  little  children  and  old  men,  earning  livelihoods 
by  freeing  the  sweet  and  healthful  grass  from  noxious 
weeds.  Everywhere  were  signs  of  the  civic  life 
founded  on  livable  ideals.  New  cottages  were  taking 
place  of  the  blocks  that  had  spread  from  street-end 
to  street-end  in  hideous  sameness.  Where  this  had 
not  yet  been  done,  there  were  porticoes,  and  window 
boxes  and  plots  of  green,  large,  clean  windows  and 
many  signs  of  diversifying  the  idea  by  individual  ex 
pression.  In  the  mills  of  new  type,  work  was  be 
coming  an  educator  of  humane  and  economic  value  to 
the  workers,  as  well  as  a  financial  blessing. 

They  stopped  a  moment  to  note  progress  on  one  of 
the  new  mills,  then  whirled  smoothly  on  to  the  home 
stead,  where,  years  before,  Daniel  Landell  had  passed 
many  enjoyable  days  with  Martin  Mevin,  then  a  col 
lege  man. 

"  Have  you  dropped  law  practice,  Ross  ?  "  said  Mr. 
Landell,  as  they  sat  down  to  luncheon. 

"  No,  simply  changed  methods.  I  left  the  halls  of 
justice  and  the  chambers  of  equity,  one  day,  to  come 
down  here  to  a  directors'  meeting.  It  was  after  my 
return  to  the  city  following  the  wonderful  summer  at 
Beneby.  I  wandered  over  the  old  house  which  had 
long  been  closed,  with  an  appalling  sense  of  divorce 
ment  from  the  law  I  was  practising  in  the  courts  and 
an  increasing  revelation  of  the  lawlessness  I  was  al 
lowing  to  run  riot  in  my  affairs.  As  I  rested  after  a 


The  House  of  Landell  373 

lonely  dinner  I  sat  in  the  old  library  and —  "  he  smiled 
a  happy  reminiscent  little  smile, — "  I  seemed  to  see 
dozens  of  teacups  walk  out  of  the  church  pantry  in 
Beneby  to  be  arraigned  by  that  daughter  of  yours  with 
her  eyes  of  vision.  I  felt  that  I  was  one  of  those  tea 
cups.  Round  me  was  the  written  law ;  within  me,  was 
emptiness !  From  the  windows  I  could  see  houses  that 
no  human  should  live  in ;  a  death-dealing  odor  wafted 
through  the  open  doors.  I  set  out  to  find  its  source.  I 
found  it  in  swamp  lands  belonging  to  me — too  large  a 
proposition  for  the  local  Board  of  Health  to  deal  with. 
I  sauntered  about  the  village.  Typhoid,  diphtheria, 
fever — the  placards  were  so  many  as  to  be  horrifying, 
I  went  through  the  mills.  There  were  hundreds  of 
exhausted  men  and  women.  Deadly  routine  was  turn 
ing  some  into  automatons  and  crazing  others.  I  saw 
the  opportunity  of  extending  the  practice  of  law,  out 
side  the  courts,  into  the  lives  of  men  and  women — 
and  I  am  trying  to  demonstrate  that  it  can  be  done." 

"  You  are  mentioned  for  legislature  in  this  district,  I 
see?" 

"  Yes,  the  practice  of  the  law  must  be  extended  into 
legislation.  I  saw,  at  length,  that  I  was  a  craven 
to  refuse  to  raise  the  standard  on  the  shoulders  of 
understanding,  and  to  share  the  responsibility  of  guid 
ing  its  expression." 

"  The  car  is  at  the  door,  sir,  and  there  is  a  message 
for  you  from  the  Memorial,"  said  the  butler. 

"  We  will  go  on,"  said  Mevin,  rising.  "  Mr.  Lan 
dell,  I  don't  like  the  name,  Memorial.  My  father  still 
lives.  He  lives !  What  can  the  building  be  called  that 
announces  continuous  life  instead  of  death?" 

"  Do  you  ask  me?  "  said  Mr.  Landell. 

"  I  do." 

"  Shall  it  be,"  he  said,  meditatively,  "  The  Practice 
of  the  Law  of  Martin  Mevin's  life?  " 


374  The  House  of  Landell 

"  It  shall !  We  will  go  to  the  building — where  I 
shall  confer  with  the  master  of  ceremonies — then  drive 
about  the  place.  It  is  not  long  since  I  began  the  work, 
but  in  these  days  of  directed  effort  years  seem  more 
and  more  unnecessary  to  the  fulfilment  of  dreams — 
some  dreams !  " 

He  sighed  and  turned  away. 

"  You  have  worked  wonders,"  said  Mrs.  Landell, 
as,  after  an  exhaustive  survey  of  the  building,  they 
drove  from  point  to  point  of  interest,  skirting  the 
swamp  lands,  which,  as  fast  as  drained,  were  being 
made  to  bloom  and  fructify. 

"  It  has  been  the  result  of  cooperation  from  the  first. 
Each  step  has  been  explained  and  tested  before  a  board 
of  the  people  and  of  experts.  It  has  been  taught  in 
dividually  and  from  the  forum,  for  change  terrifies 
those  to  whom  change  has  generally  meant  something 
worse  than  before." 

"  Because  the  working  man's  mind  is  awake,  as 
never  before,  it  finds  itself  coming  out  of  the  state  of 
inertia  to  that  of  chaos  which  always  precedes  forma 
tion  and  crystallization,"  said  Mrs.  Landell.  "  Tell  us 
more,"  for  Mevin,  feeling  he  might  be  tiring  his 
guests,  had  made  a  move  to  change  the  subject. 

"  First  of  all,"  settling,  now,  into  the  subject,  as 
sured  of  bearing  his  listeners  with  him,  "  I  called 
the  operatives  and  the  townspeople  together  and  ex 
plained  reasons  for,  and  methods  of,  clearing  and 
draining  the  swamp  lands  and  turning  them  into  truck 
gardens  on  cooperative  lines.  There  is  an  educational 
system,  connected  with  the  mills,  that  the  mind  may 
lead  in  what  the  hands  are  given  to  do.  The  operatives 
are  not  kept  at  one  loom  in  the  mill's  work,  but  may 
take  all  steps  from  crude  material  to  finished  product. 
They  who  choose  may  take  six  months  in  the  mills  and 
six  in  the  open, — as  in  the  dairies,  for  instance.  At 


The  House  of  Landell  375 

first,  there  was  a  certain  amount  of  suspicion  and  indo 
lence;  now,  though  never  free  from  the  serpent  of  dis 
content  that,  in  the  mists  of  ignorance  and  non-com 
prehension,  insinuates  its  way  into  every  paradise,  we 
feel  assured,  in  the  main,  of  cooperation." 

"  I  see  many  women  working  in  the  gardens/'  said 
Mrs.  Landell. 

"  Yes,  they  began,  at  once,  planting  the  most  avail 
able  parts  of  the  swamp  lands  and  delight  in  planning 
details  together  with  an  advisory  board  of  agricultur 
ists.  A  corps  of  sanitary  engineers  and  experts  worked 
ahead  of  them  to  prepare,  for  cultivation,  what  has 
been  a  death  dealer  for  years.  Best  of  all — the  faces 
of  the  men  and  women  are  unfolding  their  latent 
intelligence — expressing  purpose  and  self-respect." 

"  What  was  your  next  step  ?  "  said  Mr.  Landell. 

"  Some  of  the  men  were  developing  anarchic  ten 
dencies  to  a  marked  degree.  Investigation  showed  that 
one  of  the  most  vicious  had  been  a  farmer  at  home.  I 
gave  him  oversight  of  one  of  the  trucking  districts.  I 
believe  this  return  to  a  life  in  the  open  is  relating  him 
to  his  problem." 

"  You  seem  to  have  all  industries  needed  for  the 
sustenance  and  comfort  of  the  townspeople  right  here." 

"Yes,  that  is  my  idea  of  a  civic  centre, — where  the 
needs  and  the  supply  for  the  same  are  centralized. 
This  bakery  you  see  is  serving  to  save  the  lives  and 
reason  of  two  English  bakers  who  were  eating  their 
hearts  out  in  the  roar  and  whirl  of  the  spindles.  Now, 
they  are  using  their  energy  in  making  a  success  of  a 
bakery  heretofore  a  failure.  They  are  provided  with 
the  best  materials  and  are  giving  the  community  good 
bread." 

"  These  were  the  dreams  your  father  dreamed  when 
we  were  lads  at  college." 

"  I  am  happy  that  I  am  doing  what  I  can  to  relieve 


376  The  House  of  Landell 

the  monotony  of  routine — he,  himself,  disliked  it  so. 
I  am  happy,  too,  in  the  general  sense  that  we  are 
working  together  toward  the  one  divine  event — unity. 
There  are  one  or  two, — several,  in  fact,  who  are 
resenting  replacing  human  beings  with  machines,  but 
surely  understanding  is  greater  than  ignorance,  unity 
greater  than  dissension;  illumination  more  powerful 
than  darkness.  Here  come  the  operatives  from  the 
lower  mill.  I  want  your  opinion  as  to  whether  variety 
of  occupation  adds  to  their  personality  as  I  know  it 
has  to  their  economic  value." 

Mevin  threw  back  his  hair  with  a  winning  gesture 
so  familiar  to  Agnes. 

The  bell  struck.  The  employees  walked  into  the 
streets,  not  with  a  straggling  slouch  but  with  purpose 
and  virility.  As  they  saw  Mevin,  one  and  another 
smiled  at  him  with  a  sense  of  comradeship. 

"  Through  it  all,"  Mevin  turned  again  to  his  guests, 
while  his  splendid  face  glowed  with  the  recognition  of 
his  idea,  "  there  is  the  principle  of  unity  of  thought, 
purpose  and  deed, — the  good  of  each  in  the  good  of 
all." 

"  Mevin,"  Mr.  Landell  leaned  forward,  took  his 
friend's  hand  and  looked  deeply  into  the  earnest  eyes, 
"  I  bestow  upon  you  the  noblest  praise  it  is  in  the 
power  of  man  to  give, — it  is  a  simple  phrase  but  vol 
umes  can  express  no  more : 

"  You  are  a  good  man." 

Agnes  had  been  left  behind  with  a  sad  heart  because 
she,  herself,  had  closed  the  door  upon  this  natural 
meeting  with  the  man  she  had  learned  to  love.  She 
saw  him  constantly  before  her;  but  always,  now,  with 
eternity  separating  them.  Withal,  there  had  come  a 
sense  of  release  that  no  marriage  vows  to  another 
prevented  her  from  thinking  of  him  and  loving  him 


The  House  of  Landell 


377 


in  the  secret  places  of  her  heart,  apart  from  the  knowl 
edge  of  mankind. 

Left  to  her  thoughts,  she  plunged  into  the  woods. 
At  first,  Ross  Mevin's  name  recurred  tantalizingly  to 
her  mind,  its  rhythm  syncopating  with  the  rhythm  of 
her  step.  After  a  while  the  sense  of  unity  that  always 
came  to  her  through  the  pines  and  hemlocks,  the  satin- 
barked  beeches,  the  sky  and  the  water  and  the  imma 
nence  of  God,  made  her  feel  as  if  she  were  riding  a 
sea  of  truth  into  ports  of  high  desire.  Alternating 
with  this  happy  elevation,  her  feelings  ebbed  toward 
the  shoals  on  which  she,  perhaps,  had  irrevocably 
stranded  her  life — the  idea  of  mistaken  and  ineffectual 
sacrifice.  No,  it  was  not  irrevocable.  She  had  been 
borne  away  from  the  shoals  on  the  outgoing  tides  of 
her  soul's  intelligence.  Again  she  became  tranquil. 
Her  prayer  synchronized  with  her  step  and  the  song 
in  her  heart  of  Ross  Mevin's  name. 

"  Agnes !  "  Tom  hailed  her  as  she  returned  to  the 
house,  "  I  want  to  show  you  a  letter  from  Ross  Mevin. 
He  wants  me  to  undertake,  for  the  children  in  Lodes- 
minster  who  need  it,  something  like  what  we  are  doing 
for  Hi-Timmy.  I  am  thinking  of  it — and  I  want  to 
plan  to  marry  in  the  spring.  It  looks  as  if  my  life  were 
set  too  firmly  in  the  cement  of  mediocrity  ever  to  have 
experiences,"  he  laughed  happily.  "  I  do  want  at 
least  one ;  but  I've  made  my  bed  of  eiderdown  and  must 
lie  in  it,  I  suppose.  Good-bye,  I'm  off  to  Cousin  Ma 
tilda's.  Her  servants  are  to  go  to  town  early  this  even 
ing,  to  open  her  house  there,  and  I  shall  see  her  off  in 
the  morning.  Then  I'll  close  the  house  and  stick  a 
piece  of  paper  over  every  single, — and  double — window 
there,  even  to  the  fourth  generation, — I  mean,  story; 
— that  is  her  method  of  house  closing,  you  know.  You 
won't  be  nervous,  will  you,  all  alone  in  the  house,— 
as  far  as  family  goes,  I'm  sorry  it  so  happens;  but 


378  The  House  of  Landell 

you  know  Cousin  Matilda  is  nothing  if  not  inoppor 
tune.  Would  you  like  to  have  Hi-Timmy  come  up 
from  the  Burtons'  ?  He  was  to  be  down  there,  to 
night,  for  he  is  going  fishing  and  an  early  start  will 
be  easier  from  there." 

"  I  thank  you,  I  shall  be  quite  at  ease,"  smiled  Agnes. 

She  watched  him  out  of  sight.  Then  she  turned 
toward  the  garden — Hi-Timmy  was  strolling  about, 
looking  lonesome.  For  the  first  time,  the  change  that 
for  months  had  been  stealing  into  his  face  arrested  her 
attention. 

"  Whatever  the  appearance  of  Hi-Timmy  Tid- 
mouse,"  she  said  to  herself,  "  he  is  re-forming  himself, 
which  is  greater  than  taking  big  cities.  He  has  in 
herent  in  him  the  name  of  Alexander.  Alexander  it 
shall  be,  henceforth,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned.  Alex 
ander  !  "  she  called. 

Hi-Timmy  started  a  little  at  this  unusual  manner  of 
address. 

"  Would  you  like  to  go  to  a  concert  with  me  this 
afternoon?  " 

Hi-Timmy's  lips  did  not  always  respond  to  over 
tures  ;  but  his  eyes  did.  Now,  they  fairly  brimmed 
over  their  delight. 

"  Run  down  to  the  Burtons'  and  ask  if  Amy  may  go 
with  us, — would  you  like  to  ? — We  will  take  the  twelve 
o'clock  train  and  look  in  upon  the  violin-maker  before 
the  concert,  which  is  to  begin  at  two." 

As  Hi-Timmy  went,  there  echoed  in  her  heart,  like 
the  voice  of  a  sweet  and  helpful  teacher  who  might,  at 
the  moment  of  speaking,  be  out  of  visual  range,  the 
words  the  violin-maker  had  repeated,  "  Except  ye  be 
come  as  little  children  ye  cannot  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven." 

She  sang  the  quotation  over  and  over  to  herself. 

"  It  is  truth  speaking,"  she  assured  herself,  "  I  am 


The  House  of  Landell  379 

beginning  to  distinguish  the  voice  from  the  calls  of 
doubt  and  imaginings.  Now,  to  make  the  correspon 
dence  between  my  message  and  my  expression  that  it 
may  be  truth  in  deed!  Alexander!  "  she  called  after 
the  little  figure  speeding  down  the  driveway,  "  tell  Amy 
we  will  come  for  her  in  the  cart.  Judd  has  to  take 
Jetty  to  the  blacksmith's  and  we  will  stop  a  few  min 
utes,  and  watch  the  horse  being  shod.  You  said  the 
other  day  you  had  never  seen  the  red-hot  iron  beaten 
into  shape  and  then  put  onto  the  hoof.  We  can  stay 
and  watch  until  train  time,  the  shop  is  so  near  the 
station." 

Amy  could  go  and  the  programme  was  carried  out 
to  the  children's  delight.  Timmy  was  entranced  at 
the  happiness — as  he  called  it — about  the  blacksmith's 
shop.  This  seemed  to  have  more  effect  upon  him  than 
the  excitement  of  the  flying  sparks  and  the  reiterant 
clang  of  the  anvil.  It  was  such  a  wonderful  thing, 
this  happiness,  to  which,  until  recently,  he  had  been 
so  pathetically  a  stranger. 

"  Miss  Agnes,"  he  said,  dreamily,  looking  past  the 
glow  of  the  fire,  "  I'd  rather  be  happy  and  sing  happy 
and  make  happy  than  anything  I  know  about.  When 
the  violin  is  mended  I'll  show  you  how  happy  sounds." 

The  train  came  pounding  in  and  the  children  got 
on.  Alexander  forgot  to  shudder  as  the  great  mogul 
engine  came  toward  them.  What  he  recalled  about  it 
now,  was,  that  it  had  helped  him  to  pay  Amy  and  to 
see  the  violin-maker  and  that  it  took  him  there  many 
and  many  a  time  and  always  for  something  joyful. 
Now,  as  Agnes  had  told  him,  it  was  to  take  him  to  hear 
many  people  send  their  souls'  expression  through  dif 
ferent  instruments  with  such  keen  understanding  of 
one  man's  idea,  and  such  desire  to  make  that  one  man's 
idea  plain  to  all  who  heard,  that  each  forgot  himself 
in  the  glory  of  the  whole  and  everybody  was  glad  be- 


380  The  House  of  Landell 

cause  the  harmony  was  complete  and  sounded  out  in 
music  caught  from  many  and  different  sources,  ex 
pressed  as  if  it  had  come,  as  it  really  does,  from  one 
great  soul. 

With  divided  attention  Agnes  listened  to  the  chil 
dren's  rather  one-sided  conversation — for  it  was  Amy's 
voice,  principally,  that  was  heard  in  excited  little 
squeals  as  the  noise  of  the  train  lessened  for  the  mo 
ment  on  a  smooth  bit  of  road.  Timmy  spoke  more 
with  his  eyes,  though  he,  too,  in  the  ecstacy  of  the  mo 
ment  was  moved  to  speech  that  came  forth  like  spas 
modic  cheeps  of  a  young  bird  and  whose  very  sound 
frightened  him  into  silence  until  aroused  by  some  new 
joy  beyond  the  power  of  repression.  With  this  har 
mony  of  accompaniment,  Agnes  followed  the  thought 
that  had  been  singing  through  her  heart.  To  become 
as  little  children ;  to  live  as  they  do ;  think  as  they 
do;  to  be  with  them,  is  to  enter  the  kingdom  of 
heaven. 

She  watched  Amy,  especially,  and  saw  how  the 
worldliness  of  the  grownups  about  her  was  already 
obscuring  the  idea  of  the  heaven  that  "  lies  near  us  in 
our  infancy,"  arid  how  heaven  was  peeping  in  and 
out  of  the  clouds  of  Hi-Timmy's  understanding  as  he 
came  slowly  out  of  the  darkness  of  his  fright-warped 
condition.  Then,  irresistibly  she  found  herself  ac 
commodating  the  song  of  her  heart  to  the  rhythm  of 
Ross  Mevin's  name.  Like  an  obligato  to  an  accom 
paniment,  it  seemed  to  flow  with  tender  insistence,  not 
yet  wholly  consonant  with  the  movement  of  her  life, 
but  weaving  in  and  out  of  discord.  Even  while  bring 
ing  dissonance  into  harmony,  the  clashing  chord  of 
questioning  sounded  in  the  quivering  of  her  heart. 
What  should  she  do  with  Philip  Herman's  problem! 

"  Life  is  for  service,"  she  admonished  herself. 

"Ross  Mevin!" 


The  House  of  Landell  381 

The  name  seemed  caught  and  suspended  in  the  air 
like  a  chain  of  melody  from  a  string  of  golden  bells. 

She  bade  the  children  good-bye  at  the  station  and 
turned  towards  home,  her  heart  still  singing  so  that 
she  did  not  notice  the  stillness  of  the  house.  The  home 
helpers,  who  loved  her,  had  prepared  an  especially 
dainty  repast.  They  hovered  about  her  until  she  as 
sured  them  she  felt  no  loneliness.  Then  they  left  her 
alone  with  her  sweet  soliloquy. 

As  night  settled  down,  she  lost  the  serenity  she  had 
acquired.  Without  apparent  reason  her  spirit  became 
strangely  turbulent.  She  turned  from  the  sketch  she 
was  penning — so  completely  interwoven  with  thoughts 
of  Ross — to  combat  an  overwhelming  paroxysm  of 
sobs.  Soul  and  heart  unexplainedly  surged  and  stirred 
within  her,  inundating  her  with  terrors  which  gripped 
her,  not  in  physical  fear,  but  in  contention  with  forces 
she  could  neither  escape  nor  understand. 

"  What  do  you  want  me  to  do !  "  she  sobbed,  not 
knowing  whom  she  addressed.  "  What  do  you  want 
me  to  do !  "  Clenching  her  hands,  she  paced  the  floor, 
striving  to  pierce  the  blackness  of  horror  which  pos 
sessed  her.  Underneath  all,  from  time  to  time,  there 
came  an  uplift  and  a  strong  sense  of  spiritual  power. 

Again  the  sickening  dread  enfolded  her.  A  tremen 
dous  stirring  of  soul  elements  mingled  with  her  surg 
ing  emotion.  Her  body  throbbed  until  she  felt  its  pul 
sations  against  the  chair.  Soundless  sobs  shook  her 
from  head  to  foot.  Subtle  powers  within  were  incit 
ing  her  to  action,  and,  with  seemingly  equal  strength, 
contending  forces  held  her  back.  She  was  in  chaos, 
torn  by  the  emotional  tornado  which,  the  more  she 
tried  to  repress,  the  more  it  possessed  her. 

Impelling  herself  to  outward  calm,  she  sought  the 
kitchen,  hoping  to  gain  moral  support  from  the  homely 
simple  garrulity  of  the  maids;  but  the  evening  had 


382  The  House  of  Landell 

passed  into  midnight  during  this  inexplicable  up 
heaval,  and  the  women  had  retired.  Returning  to  the 
library,  she  settled  herself  in  her  father's  special  chair, 
with  an  intense  desire  to  gain  from  it  something  of  his 
strength  and  insight.  Still  the  tumult  did  not  abate. 
This  whirlwind  of  emotions  terrified  and  mystified 
her. 

She  took  a  book  and  compelled  herself  to  look  at 
its  pages.  Reading  was  impossible.  The  inward  surge 
swept  past  her  will  and  blinded  her  brain  to  the  printed 
words. 

Steadily,  like  filings  by  the  magnet,  her  attention 
was  drawn  from  the  lifted  page  to  the  room  ad 
joining  that  in  which  she  sat.  As  she  saw  it,  it 
was  all  ablaze.  She  leaped  to  her  feet  and  ran  to 
the  hall.  It,  too,  seemed  a  mass  of  flames.  Wherever 
she  turned,  the  same  horrible  phenomenon  assailed 
her.  Everything  she  looked  upon  seemed  seething  in 
fire.  She  went  through  the  rooms,  and  lurid  light  lay 
between  her  and  all  on  which  she  thought  to  look. 

As  suddenly  as  this  mystery  had  made  itself  ap 
parent,  so  it  vanished.  Dense  blackness  settled  over 
all.  Then  the  fearful  obsession  possessed  her  again 
and  threatened  to  rend  her.  Still  the  victim  of  un 
reasoning  terror  she  found  herself  up-stairs  in  a 
crumpled  heap  upon  her  bed,  every  aperture  of  the 
room  closed  against  the  awful  flames.  The  sense  of 
being  enclosed  oppressed  her,  and  she  flung  open  the 
door.  As  it  swung  back,  she  stood  transfixed.  The 
upper  hall  was  aflame  with  light  and  crawling  up  the 
staircase,  anguish  in  every  feature,  crept  a  dark  figure 
whose  personality  she  knew,  but,  in  her  turbulence  of 
mind,  could  not  establish. 

With  sensibilities  keenly  alert,  but  too  terrified  to 
move,  she  sat  as  one  paralyzed,  gazing  into  the  black 
ness  that  now  supplanted  this  horrible  vision.  Time 


The  House  of  Landell  383 

lived  not,  to  her.  Whether  minutes  or  hours,  it  mat 
tered  not.  Still  she  sat,  eyes  gazing,  unseeing,  and 
mind  crisping  with  horror  at  the  blaze  of  light  it  still 
could  vividly  discern. 

The  night  wore  on.  The  cool  damps  of  early  dawn 
invaded  the  house.  Still  the  clutch  of  horror  held  her 
rigid. 

Into  the  tenseness  of  her  stillness,  finally  there  crept 
a  slight  release.  She  moved.  A  fluttering  breath 
quivered  its  way  through  her  lungs  and  started  the  sus 
pended  circulation.  Her  blood  gave  a  swift  bound 
and  she  almost  swooned  with  the  suddenness  of  action 
after  the  inhibition  of  her  forces.  Then,  little  by  little, 
it  assumed  its  usual,  normal  course,  and  the  breath 
came  longer  now,  less  quivering,  more  sustained. 

"'God  is  forever  still.'  Then  what  moves?  Let 
me  be  still,  just  a  moment,  dear  God,  not  reasoning, 
not  questing,  but  still,  just  still." 

Minutes  passed.  The  stillness  grew.  It  calmed  the 
turbulence  of  her  mentality,  whose  constant  movement 
had  prevented  her  from  clearly  discerning  the  great 
vision.  With  the  strength  of  a  purpose,  not  wholly 
within  her  knowledge,  but  within  her  power  to  fulfil, 
she  sprang  to  her  feet,  seized  her  heavy  cloak,  and  ran 
from  the  house. 

The  silence  made  weird  calls  to  her  but  she  heeded 
them  not.  With  the  unerring  tread  of  one  who  knows 
the  way  she  turned  from  the  private  drive  and  down 
the  silent  street. 

Even  the  cry,  "  Why  did  I  not  go  before!  "  which 
threatened  to  stifle  her,  was  held  in  abeyance  before 
the  determination  to  make  up,  as  best  she  could,  for 
her  delay  and  to  be  there  in  time,  in  time! 

On  she  sped  until,  at  the  farther  end  of  the  village, 
Cousin  Matilda's  house  loomed  darkly  before  her. 
Making  no  attempt,  by  ringing  or  knocking,  to  rouse 


384  The  House  of  Landell 

her  brother,  she  ran  to  one  of  the  old-fashioned  French 
windows,  broke  a  pane,  and,  entering  the  room,  went 
at  once  to  the  electric  button  and  pressed  it.  There  was 
no  response. 

As  she  moved  towards  the  kitchen  in  search  of 
matches  and  a  lamp,  her  foot  struck  an  unyielding 
something.  Stooping,  she  touched  it.  Her  fingers  fell 
upon  something  cold,  unresponsive — a  nose,  eyes, — a 
human  face.  It  did  not  move  as  her  fingers  traveled 
over  the  immobile  surface — and  through  the  house 
there  was  no  sound. 

A  wonderful  power  upheld  her  as  she  stood  over  the 
form  and  prayed.  In  the  dense  blackness  of  the 
shaded,  blinded  room,  she  could  not  tell  which  way 
to  turn,  or  who  or  what  it  might  be, — a  burglar  who 
had  fallen  before  her  brother,  or  Tom ! — her  hand 
touched  a  woman's  dress.  She  traced  it  down  an  arm 
to  a  hand.  Upon  the  fingers  were  the  old-fashioned 
rings  her  Cousin  Matilda  always  wore,  but  the  face 
moved  not. 

Roused,  now,  to  the  fact  that  she  must  find  her 
brother,  and  with  no  thought  of  fleeing  until  she  had 
thoroughly  made  the  quest,  she  stood,  outreaching 
from  a  centre  of  assurance  that,  even  in  the  darkness, 
God  is  Light.  Fear  fell  from  her  as  a  loosed  garment. 
Only  the  knowledge  that  she  was  sent  to  save  infilled 
her.  About  her,  there  radiated  a  soft,  sweet  luminence. 
Through  it  and  in  it  she  distinguished  articles  in  the 
room.  There  was  something  else — she  had  vaguely 
noted  it  before  but  had  passed  it  by  amid  the  horrors 
that  had  urged  themselves  upon  her  attention.  It  was 
the  odor  of  smoke.  It  grew  more  perceptible  as  she 
advanced  towards  the  kitchen,  and,  as  she  stepped 
over  the  threshold,  something  else  halted  her.  Again 
she  stooped,  this  time,  with  unerring  direction,  plac- 


The  House  of  Landell  385 

ing  her  hand  upon  a  brow — a  finely  chiselled  forehead, 
with  a  little  fall  of  wavy  hair — the  brow  of  Tom! 

She  knelt  beside  him  in  the  dark,  the  light  of  her 
own  trust  in  Infinity  giving  her  a  supernal,  rather  than 
a  supernatural  light. 

This  face  was  warm,  and  in  a  moment  there  came 
a  whisper  from  parted  lips,  formed  with  panting 
breath,  and  words  with  Tom's  dear,  whimsical  grasp 
on  humor  and  on  fact. 

"  I  have  what  I  asked  for, — an  experience !  I  have 
been  calling  for  you  all  night." 

"  Oh,  Tom,  I  almost  did  not  come !  " 

"  I  could  not  blame  you.  I  have  been  begging  you 
to  cut  such  demands  out  of  your  life.  Fool !  All  night 
I  have  seen  father's  face  as  it  looked  when  I  said  what 
I  did." 

"  Can't  you  move?  " 

"  No.     Perhaps  my  back  is  broken." 

Agnes  groaned. 

"  And  perhaps  not.  It  may  be  worse  than  it  is, — 
what  a  bull !  "  —his  old  humor  twinkling  in  the  words. 

"  I  will  telephone, —  " 

"  Matilda  had  it — and  the  electricity — cut  off." 

"  I  smell  smoke." 

"  She  hid  some  silver  in  the  woodpile  instead  of 
sending  it  to  the  bank, — decided — not — to  leave  it  there 
—upset  a  lamp  in  the  middle  of — a  lot  of — kin 
dling —  His  strength  was  ebbing  fast  but  he  strug 
gled  on. 

"  She  fell  into  the  blaze.  I  got  her  out — she  must 
have  breathed  the  flame — died  as  I  was  carrying  her 
up-stairs, — found  her  heavier — heavi — then  dead — all 
in  the  dark — dark — Agnes! —  "  his  voice  trailed  away 
into  unconsciousness. 

Agnes  never  knew  what  followed — how  she  ob 
tained  aid ;  how  they  got  Tom  home  into  his  own  cool 


386  The  House  of  Landell 

bed;  the  return  of  the  father  and  mother;  the  laying 
away  of  Cousin  Matilda — it  was  all  a  dream.  What, 
in  thankfulness  of  heart,  she  did  know  was,  that  she 
had  saved  Tom — for  the  life-blood  had  been  flowing 
as  he  lay  there  and  in  another  hour  help  would  have 
been  too  late. 

There  was  over  a  year  of  plaster  casts  and  tender 
care.  There  were  realms  of  revelation  as  he  lay  there 
apart  from  the  things  that  are  seen  and  heard  and  done 
and  in  communion  with  the  things  that  are  unseen, 
eternal  in  the  heavens. 

To  Agnes,  also,  came  a  revelation  of  what  she  had 
called  the  tragedy  of  love,  as  she  studied  the  meanings 
of  the  Great  Teacher's  life  through  the  close  analysis 
of  their  own. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

"  'Love  tannot  with  impunity  be  liberated  from 
the  sacred  order  of  life" 

"BETTERS  from  the  South!"  said  Agnes.  "A 
budget  from  Tom  and  one  from  Mattee  Sue,  Mother, 
for  you ! " 

As  she  spoke,  with  eyes  bright  with  interest  and 
cheeks  glowing  with  the  exhilaration  of  her  swift  walk 
to  the  mail  box,  she  entered  the  library  and  deposited 
her  letters  in  Mrs.  Landell's  lap,  then  seated  herself 
by  the  snapping  fire  of  driftwood.  Watching  the 
vivid  colorings  of  copperas  and  brine-steeped  nails  and 
seasoned  ship  wreckage  flash  and  flame  the  histories 
they  could  not  speak  in  words,  she  awaited  the  news. 

"Which  shall  we  open  first?"  said  Mrs.  Landell. 

"  I  am  always  wondering  which  is  the  best  way  to 
attack  a  lot  of  mail,  whether  to  choose  the  most  desired 
first  or  last,"  laughed  Agnes. 

"  Let's  climax  the  process,  then,"  joined  in  Mr. 
Landell.  "  Take  Mattee  Sue's  first  and  Tom's  second." 

"  That  won't  leave  much  but  the  personality  of 
Tom's  letter,  then,  for  the  woman  always  tells  the 
news.  Go  on,  mother,  here's  for  Mattee  Sue's!" 

Mrs.  Landell,  smiling,  opened  the  pretty  envelope, 
dashed  and  flecked  with  a  very  characteristic  writing, 
and  began, — 

"'Dear  People  All,— Your  big  son  came  buzzing  down  here 
like  a  great  June  bug  months  ago,  buzzed  so  incessantly  for  a 
fortnight  that  he  absolutely  succeeded  in  wooing  from  me  the 

387 


388  [The  House  of  Landell 

promise  of  marrying  him  after  a  while.  Now  for  a  second 
time  he  has  come  down  here,  buzzing  just  the  same  but  seeming 
more  doleful  because  a  June  bug  near  Thanksgiving  time  is 
out  of  place  and,  like  clothes  out  of  season,  seems  pitiful.  Be 
sides  that,  he  looks  so  meek,  so  very  manageable  (which  he  did 
not  before)  since  that  dreadful  accident  — and  he  has  told  me, 
Agnes,  how  very  wonderful  you  were, — that  I  don't  know  but 
that  it  would  be  very  wise  for  me  to  agree  to  his  wish  to 
marry  me  at  once.  You  must  know,  dear  Mamma  Landell, 
that  it  is  a  wise  plan  for  me  to  take  the  reins  of  government 
while  he  is  manageable.  Don't  you  fully  agree  with  me ! 

'' '  Of  course,  having  that  idea,  nothing  would  do  but  that  the 
ceremony  must  be  performed  instantly.  You  know  men — I  am 
sure  you  do !  They  are  a  dreadfully  long  time  making  up  their 
minds  to  a  thing  but,  having  reached  that  point,  the  next  train 
isn't  a  sufficiently  rapid  vehicle  to  accomplish  the  desired  end. 

" '  Of  course,  I  wouldn't  hear  of  doing  this  without  letting 
you  know  and  having  you  see  me.  Are  you  willing  to  take  the 
next  train  South  and  behold  your  son  put  off  his  garment  of 
assurance  and  come  under  the  yoke  of  my  dominion?  Would 
it  make  you  tremble  too  much  to  witness  such  capitulation  on 
his  part!  We  will  wait  till  we  hear  from  you  before  setting 
the  date  when  he  will  hand  me  his  sword  and  sign  his  name  to 
our  treaty  of  cooperation.  Come  quickly,  all,  for  we  don't  want 
any  one  to  know  about  this  and  want  to  get  out  oi  town  as 
quickly  and  quietly  as  possible.  No  one  wants  to  worry  about 
a  trousseau  when  the  weather  is  adorable  for  traveling  and  the 
man  you  love  has  been  snatched  from  the  jaws  of  death  so 
very  recently,  and  wants  you  to  help  him  back  to  his  old  self 
with  splendid  additions. 

"  '  Your  daughter  and  sister  soon-to-be, 

"  '  MATTEE  SUE   LANDELL.'  " 

"  She  must  be  a  sweet  child,"  said  Mr.  Landell, 
thoughtfully  and  tenderly ;  "  but  Helen,  those  children 
don't  want  us  to  go  down  there  and  advertise  the  secret 
they  are  striving  to  hide.  Write  them  at  once  to  go 
on  with  their  very  sensible  plan  of  doing  the  thing 
quietly.  It's  better,  too,  for  Tom,  than  all  those  stag- 


The  House  of  Landell  389 

dinners  and  wind-ups  preceding  a  fashionable  wedding, 
don't  you  think  so,  Agnes !  " 

"  Now  for  Tom's,"  returned  Agnes,  the  love-light 
deepening  in  her  eyes. 

"  '  Dear  Mother,  Father  and  Agnes, — Isn't  Mattee  Sue  fine  to 
accede  to  what  she  sees  is  my  preference — to  get  out  of  the 
turmoil  of  a  big  wedding.  I  know  it  is  a  sacrifice  on  her  part, 
but  she  refuses  to  admit  it — she's  that  sort.  I  am  glad,  for 
I  don't  feel  very  fit  for  that  sort  of  thing,  and  to  come  home 
without  my  rhetoric  queen — well,  it  seems  as  if  I  couldn't,  that's 
all.  Are  you  going  to  let  me  bring  her  to  the  roof  tree — where 
my  loved  ones  dwell — that  has  harbored  me  and  nourished  the 
ideals  you  have  born  within  me?  Then,  we  will  travel  for  a 
month  and  be  home  in  time  to  give  the  Southern  Jessamine  a 
northern  Christmas  with  a  yule  log  in  the  big  fireplace  in  the 
dining-room. 

" '  Just  the  same  as  ever,  I  am, 

" '  YOUR  TOM.'  " 

There  was  silence  after  the  mother  had  finished  read 
ing  this.  The  driftwood  sputtered  and  threw  forth 
vari-colors  and  the  flames  seized  a  rusty  nail  and  sang 
about  it  as  it  translated,  in  terms  of  light  and  expres 
sion,  the  inertia  of  its  seeming  uselessness.  Then  the 
mother  rose. 

"  I  will  go  and  answer  these  at  once,"  she  said  gently. 
"  Of  course  the  boy  and  the  little  bride  shall  come  home 
to  us,  Daniel  ?  " 

"  Of  course,"  Mr.  Landell  threw  more  driftwood 
on  the  fire. 

After  the  mother  had  left  the  room,  Agnes  and  her 
father  sat  silent  for  a  long  time;  then,  unshed  tears 
softening  the  light  in  her  beautiful  eyes,  she  went  to 
his  side. 

"  Father,  explain  life  to  me,  I  don't  know  how  to 
grasp  it  or  how  to  use  it.  It  uses  me.  Is  that  right? 
Tell  me." 


39°  The  House  of  Landell 

"  The  same  little  child  and  seer  of  years  ago,"  and 
he  smiled  tenderly  as  he  caressed  her  broad  smooth 
brow.  "  You  always  will  be  babe  and  seer,  for  of  the 
child  is  born  the  seer  and  the  seer  lives  in  the  child's 
heart.  What  do  you  want  to  know  that  you  think  I 
can  tell  you?  " 

"  Everything,  father.  I  know  that  great  distances 
are  opening  to  me.  Last  night  I  had  such  a  strange 
experience — inwardly,  you  know — to  others  it  would 
seem  I  was  resting  on  the  sofa.  Fully  conscious  of  my 
going,  I  was  led  into  spaces  I  never  before  had  tra 
versed.  There  was  no  withdrawing  on  my  part  from 
the  test,  as  there  has  been  before.  I  went  willingly  and 
intelligently,  I  felt  so  sure.  As  I  went  consciously  to 
ward  what  was  given  me  to  know,  I  said,  '  God,  hold 
my  hand.'  When  I  rose  from  the  sofa,  I  still  had  not 
let  go  God's  hand.  Do  you  suppose  the  experience  was 
like  St.  Paul's  when  he  was  caught  up  into  the  third 
heaven  and  saw  things  '  not  lawful  to  utter'?  I  feel 
as  if  it  were  an  initiation." 

"  With  the  true  initiation  there  is  nothing  spectacu 
lar  or  phenomenal,  my  little  child." 

"  There  was  not  in  this.  Not  even  light.  I  knew, 
father,  knew ! " 

Her  father  looked  at  her  tenderly. 

"  I  am  sure  God  held  your  hand,  and  always  will, 
for  you  have  come  forth,  not  disintegrant,  but  whole. 
Because  you  feared  not,  you  have  passed  through  un 
scathed.  Continue  to  build  on  your  foundation  of 
Truth  and  Grace  and  you  will  be  a  blessing  to  many. 
Trust  to  your  spiritual  insight  to  teach  you  to  recognize 
the  new  type  of  humanity.  Our  fathers  and  mothers 
are  not  our  only  heritage.  We  are  the  sons  and  daugh 
ters  of  intelligent  conception,  intelligent  manifestation 
and  conscious  reality.  Cease  striving,  little  one.  '  As 
soon  as  striving  ceases,  the  fruition  of  trust  begins.' 


The  House  of  Landell  391 

Each  moves  in  his  own  orbit.  There  is  no  limit  to 
the  love  and  wisdom  he  may  radiate.  A  very  sad  part 
of  this  truth,  dear,  is,  that  the  more  expressed  it  is, 
the  more  probable  that  we  ourselves  are  unaware  of 
the  wonderful  radiation  from  us.  We  must  be  con 
tent  not  to  know  it  and  realize  that  if  we  allow  sorrow, 
distrust  or  discontent  to  dim  our  infinite  trust  and 
faith  that  it  is  so  whether  we  realize  it  or  not,  the 
radiation  is  by  so  much  obscured.  Neither  is  life  spec 
tacular.  It  is  as  simple  and  as  natural  as  the  dawn." 

She  was  silent  a  long  time.  Her  father  could  see 
the  dawn  of  which  he  spoke,  coming  to  the  day,  radiat 
ing  from  her  very  being  as  she  sat  there  still,  and  as  he 
waited  for  what  he  knew  would  come. 

"  So  often  you  speak  of  loving  impersonally,"  she 
said  at  length,  aloud,  "  but  there  is  something  intensely 
personal  in  your  words." 

"  Love  always  is  personal  in  a  sense.  It  is  a  state 
of  feeling  and  always  related  to  physical  states  of 
consciousness." 

"  I  am  sure  there  is  something  above  love.  Why 
does  it  evade  and  elude  me  ?  " 

"  You  have  tried  to  leap  a  natural  sequence  in  the 
unfoldment  of  soul  expression.  Do  not  crush  or  scorn 
any  expression.  Imbue  it  with  the  concentrated  power 
of  the  Great  Eternal.  Do  not  crush  your  will  or  stifle 
your  affections.  These  are  given  us  as  teachers  and  as 
lovers.  Dangerous,  indeed,  it  is  to  strive  to  express 
truth  in  terms  beyond  our  growth,  as  dangerous  as  to 
place  St.  Mark's  dome  on  a  foundation  of  a  woodman's 
hut.  Do  not  crush  love.  In  the  first  place,  you  can 
not  do  it.  Let  it  be  energized  by  '  That  Which  Is  Be 
hind.'  Do  not  love  less,  love  more.  Let  it  be  great 
and  eternal.  Do  not  crush  personality.  Let  it  be 
larger  and  more  superb  than  ever,  until  it  reaches  the 
heights  of  the  Impersonal.  Then,  emotions,  instead  of 


392  The  House  of  Landell 

being  agitators  and  disturbers  of  our  peace,  will  be 
invested  with  the  moving,  growing  spirit  of  the  mes 
sengers  from  heart  to  heart  of  this  great  creation.  I 
do  not  wonder  you  doubt  and  fear  the  word  love,  for 
many  confound  it  with  cellular  attraction,  which,  as 
basis  for  marriage,  is  as  a  '  rag,  a  bone  and  a  hank 
of  hair/  Neither  love  nor  marriage  are  synonymous 
with  only  the  cellular  attraction  called  sex  affinity.  Sex 
is  one  of  the  youngest  phases — the  beginnings  of  un- 
foldment.  Marriage  is  the  divine  symbol  portraying 
the  union  of  the  personal  with  its  ideal;  the  specific 
with  the  universal;  the  revelation  of  unity.  This  is 
the  mystery  of  love,  the  ideal  of  marriage — the  un- 
foldment  of  the  states  of  consciousness  of  the  individ 
ual  to  ever  widening  and  enlightening  ideals  through 
the  union  of  lives  and  aspirations." 

"  Father,"  she  whispered,  moving  closer  to  him,  "  I 
don't  know  what  to  do." 

He  understood  and  answered  softly, 

"  '  But  when  they  are  joined  together,  the  two,  to 
gether,  appear  as  only  one  body,  and  it  is  so.  And  all 
the  universe  is  in  a  state  of  happiness  because  all  things 
receive  blessedness  from  their  perfect  body.  And  this 
is  an  arcanum/  ' 

"  I  have  been  afraid  to  love  any  one,  love  has 
brought  me  so  much  sadness." 

He  held  her  close. 

"  Not  love ;  but  too  little  of  the  true  sort.  Like  chil 
dren,  studying  the  earth  by  a  ball,  to  us  is  revealed 
the  great  love  through  relationships,  each  with  its 
specific  lesson — the  affection  of  father,  mother,  brother, 
lover,  husband,  until  life's  lessons,  through  detachment 
from  former  relations,  lead  us  into  larger  understand 
ing  of  each  relation  or  into  new  relations.  This  is 
the  larger  sense  taught  by  Jesus,  who  expressed  per 
sonality  in  every  breath  he  drew  and  dealt  with  indi- 


Jhe  House  of  Landell  393 

viduals  even  more  than  with  masses.  Such  love  as 
perses  no  motives,  feels  no  slights;  knows  no  differ 
ence.  Instead  of  being  obscured  by  the  mask  of  shape, 
communion  will  exist  in  added  clarity  and  strength. 
Thus  the  personal  becomes  the  impersonal  and  the 
personal  again,  in  sense  as  much  greater  as  the  ocean 
transcends  the  single  wave.  At  first  it  will  seem  that 
the  personal  element  is  annihilated;  instead,  you  will 
find  happiness  enhanced,  friendships  hallowed  and 
made  more  internally  close,  and  your  understanding  of 
love  grown  more  broad,  true  and  deep.  Lift  your  face 
to  the  sun  and  drink  in  happiness;  it  is  your  birthright. 
Know  that  love  of  the  individual  is  not  limited  by  any 
restrictions  of  personality,  and  that  every  soul  to  whom 
you  give  a  spiritually  personal  love  is  yours  forever  in 
the  orbits  of  understanding." 

"  Why  am  I  crucified  at  what  others  receive  with 
childlike  confidence?  " 

"  You  are  in  the  throes  of  creation  into  the  Christ 
type  of  man.  On  the  crosses  of  revelation  and  conse 
quent  knowledge  are  we  crucified,  and  remain  like  one 
asleep  until  the  Christ  Principle  germinates  and  be 
comes  manifest  within  us.  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  in  his 
deity-manifestation,  stands  before  us  supreme  in 
strength,  a  personal  saviour,  not  only  because  He  has 
awakened  us  to  the  knowledge  of  our  anointing  by 
Holy  Spirit,  for  service  to  humanity,  through  Himself 
who  lived  years  ago;  but  because  He  still  lives  ex 
pressed  through  the  personality  of  every  individual. 
You  have  discriminated ;  been  disgusted  and  have  hated 
what  you  have  discriminated  against.  You  have  con 
trolled  this  disgust ;  you  have  tolerated ;  endured.  With 
faith,  where  you  could  not  see,  you  are  approaching 
balance,  where  mediumship  gives  way  to  adeptship.  It 
is  the  door  to  spiritual  initiation.  You  are  right.  Your 
experience  was  an  initiation.  With  faith,  trust  and 


394  The  House  of  Landell 

balance,  you  entered  in,  and  came  out  whole.  Take, 
now,  the  next  step.  Enter  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 

"Joy,  Father?" 

"  Yes,  spiritual  joy." 

He  waited  a  moment,  then  spoke  again. 

"  All  life  is  an  arcanum.  Holy  mysteries  unfold 
within  us.  As  we  learn  the  uses  and  the  blessedness  of 
our  varied  experiences  we  vitalize  with  acting  force. 
Through  this  most  wonderful  arcanum  of  life, — the 
interrelation  and  interaction  of  man  and  woman,  the 
Great  Light  calls  you  to  declare  Him ;  through  the  com 
prehension  of  your  bi-une  forces,  through  the  making 
of  your  seed,  to  perpetuate  His  idea,  to  become  regen 
erate  in  marriage." 

He  stood  beside  her  a  moment,  then  laid  his  hand 
gently  upon  her  forehead  and  went  away. 

Agnes  sat  in  silence  for  some  time,  then  went  up 
stairs.  Love  accompanied  her.  It  spoke  from  the 
winter's  landscape  seen  through  the  windows  as  she 
mounted  to  her  room.  It  spoke  through  the  articles 
in  her  chamber,  into  which  she  had  breathed  her  de 
sires,  her  fears.  Before  this,  her  love  had  been  a 
tigerish  grip,  lest  she  lose  her  loved  ones  as  heretofore 
she  felt  had  been  her  fate,  or  else,  a  dull,  apathetic 
abnegation  of  what  she  had  failed  to  hold. 

To-day,  the  fear  was  gone.  She  knew  that  nothing 
could  take  from  her  the  love  of  those  who  inherently 
belonged  to  her,  neither  death  nor  any  other  creature. 
She  realized,  at  last,  that  love  to  man  is  love  to  God; 
that  it  never  dies,  and  that,  "  Twain  blending  into  one, 
sets  forth  the  spiritual  possibilities  of  man." 

"  Then  comes  the  statelier  Eden  back  to  man ; 
Then  reigns  the  world's  great  bridals,  chaste  and  calm; 
Then  springs  the  crowning  race  of  human  kind." 

The  rooms  were  readv  for  the  return  of  Tom  with 


The  House  of  Landell 


395 


the  little  bride.  No  one  knew  just  when  they  were 
coming.  They  were  to  walk  in  as  if  they  had  always 
lived  there,  said  Tom  and  Mattee  Sue, — only  a  hint 
that  it  would  be  just  about  now, — Mattee  Sue  had 
added  in  her  whimsical  fashion. 

There  had  been  a  heavy  fall  of  snow.  Putting  on 
her  snowshoes  Agnes  went  into  the  forest  to  seek 
there  the  benediction  that  always,  winter  and  summer, 
she  found  in  its  heart. 

The  air  was  like  elixir.  The  great  trees  were  clothed 
in  snow.  Now  and  then  a  twig  snapped  or  branch 
fell.  The  lake,  plainly  visible  beyond,  lay,  an  unbroken 
sheet  of  snow  and  ice,  the  sun,  shining  on  the  dazzling 
surface,  won  to  view  little  clouds  of  vapor,  here  and 
there.  Men  were  cutting  ice  not  far  from  the  further 
shore.  Other  than  this,  the  woods  were  silent,  and 
she  felt  herself  alone. 

"  Side  by  side  with  the  willing  is  the  letting,"  she 
quoted,  as  she  walked,  attuning  the  words  to  her  move 
ment.  She  thought  upon  this  as  she  made  her  way 
to  the  long  drive  that  led  from  the  lower  end  of  the 
estate  and  that  had  been  leveled  for  sleighing.  She 
wanted  to  see  the  king  beech  of  the  forest  and  his 
court  in  emeralds  and  ermine. 

"  Harmony  is  not  coerced  into  being,  it  always 
exists.  It  is  the  liberty  of  God !  " 

She  was  approaching  the  road  from  a  hilltop  when 
her  eyes  caught  the  flash  of  color  in  the  distance  like 
the  flicker  of  a  red-bird's  wing  in  the  sunshine.     She 
recalled  the  witching  bit  of  folksong  she  had  often 
heard  Tom  sing  about  his  beloved,— 
"  O   swan  of  slenderness, 
Dove  of  tenderness, 

Jewel  of  joys,  arise! 
The  little  red  lark 
Like  a  soaring  spark 

Of  song,  to  his  sunburst  flies. 


396  The  House  of  Landell 

"But  till  thou'rt  risen, 
Earth  is  a  prison 

Full  of  lonesome  sighs. 
Then  awake  and  discover 
To  thy  fond  lover 

The   morn   of  thy  matchless  eyes." 

Again  the  red  flashed  in  the  sunshine,  heralding 
a  reality  of  girlish  beauty  with  rich  furs  and  swaying 
skirts  blowing  about  her, — a  woman,  supple  and  full 
of  grace,  in  company  with  a  familiar  masculine  figure, 
appearing  and  disappearing  among  the  snow-clad  hem 
locks  that  towered  to  heaven  and  swept  the  ground. 

Agnes  focussed  her  gaze,  using  her  hands  as  tele 
scope.  In  clear  contralto,  she  sent  through  the  icy  air 
the  refrain  of  the  sweet  folksong  in  greeting  to  the 
advancing  two,  the  mischief  in  their  merry  eyes  spark 
ling  over  the  spaces  as  they  espied  her. 

'  Tom,  it  is  your  very  self!  and,  of  course,  the  little 
red  lark  beside  you,  is  Mattee  Sue." 

Bubbling  with  merriment,  the  two  skated  nearer 
shore  to  Agnes. 

"  What  a  way  to  bring  a  Southern  bride  home  to 
the  Northland — certainly  it  is  introducing  her  into  the 
midst  of  things — but  can  you,  a  Southern  girl,  trans 
form  yourself  into  a  naiad  of  the  ice  as  well  as  of  the 
air  that  you  come  to  us,  first  on  the  perfume  of  a 
flower,  then  on  the  rune  of  the  singing  skate !  " 

"  Oh-w-er-w-y,"  laughed  the  girl,  holding  a  hand  to 
Agnes,  "  Tom,  catch  me, — with  all  my  success  at  mak 
ing  a  stunning  debut,  I  am  safe  only  w'en  on  the  move. 
Take  these  things  off !  " 

In  an  instant  Tom  was  kneeling  before  his  divin 
ity,  while  Mattee  Sue  sang  gaily  on, 

"  Oh-w-er-y,  of  co'se  you  are  surprised  that  I  can 
skate ;  but  a  winter  in  Montreal  is  responsible  for  that. 
W'en  I  returned  home,  I  was  so  delighted  with  the 


The  House  of  Landell  397 

accomplishment  that  I  got  one  of  the  icemen  to  start 
an  arena,  like  your  big  Boston  skating  place  we've  just 
been  testing.  I  told  him  he  would  make  the  fortune  of 
his  life  and  that  I  would  be  personally  responsible  for 
having  the  rink  filled  with  skaters  winter  and  summer, 
— especially  summer — if  he  would  see  that  the  ice  was 
properly  frozen  and  in  order.  He  fitted  up  the  tiniest 
bit  of  a  rink  you  ever  saw,  but  a  few  couples  managed 
to  have  a  perfectly  beautiful  time — catch  me,  Tom — 
till  one  day  the  men  didn't  get  the  ice  frozen  hard 
enough  to  hold  us  and  six  of  us  got  an  ice  bath.  It 
made  every  one  but  me  mad — but  w'at's  the  use! 
Anyway,  it  stopped  our  fun,  for  no  one  would  trust 
the  slippery  deceiver  any  more. 

"  I  simply  had  to  have  something  startling  to  tell 
mauma  about  my  first  experiences  Bostonward — I 
knew  your  house  was  too  well  ordered  to  have  anything 
funny  to  write  about,  and  if  I  don't  have  funny  things 
to  tell,  papa  mopes  and  thinks  he  hasn't  his  righteous 
dues  and  begins  to  dramatize  his  emotions — an  easy 
thing  to  do  w'en  his  little  girl  has  gone  away  forever 
and  he  can't  kiss  her  good  night,  and  scold  her  for 
teasing  him.  There.  Now  Tom  has  taken  off  my 
skates  and  I  can  stand  on  my  feet,  may  I  kiss  you? 
I  didn't  attempt  it  before,  because  though  I  thought 
you  might  not  mind  theoretically  having  me  rest  on 
your  bosom  in  a  sisterly  fashion,  I  don't  think  you 
would  care  to  sustain  my  entire  weight  on  your  shoul 
ders." 

Agnes  held  out  her  arms  to  the  radiant  creature  who 
stepped  from  the  ice,  and  greeted  her  in  a  manner  that 
gave  Tom  intense  delight. 

Mattee  Sue  carolled  musically  on— 

"  It  was  so  nice  of  you  not  to  mind  our  being  mar 
ried  without  a  lot  of  fuss  and  feathers  after  the  dear 
boy  had  had  that  dreadful  tragedy— he  told  me  how 


398  The  House  of  Landell 

very  wonderful  you  were,"  giving  her  a  tender  look 
from  out  her  lustrous  eyes. 

"  You  have  to  stand  up  to  be  fitted  for  clothes  w'en 
you  want  to  be — " 

"  With  your  best  fellow,"  Tom  completed  the  sen 
tence  as  the  three  turned  towards  the  path  from  which 
Agnes  had  approached  them. 

'  Tell  me  about  your  marriage." 

"  It  was  such  fun.  We  were  married  early,  then 
took  automobiles  for  Rosenderry,  three  miles  away, 
and  would  have  caught  the  train  for  the  North  without 
anyone's  catching  us,  but  for  a  meditative  cow  which 
refused  to  get  off  the  track." 

"Did  no  one  suspect?"  Agnes  asked  the  question 
with  a  fascination  it  made  Tom  happy  to  see,  as  she 
became  imbued  with  the  charm  of  Mattee  Sue's  vary 
ing  expression  of  face  and  manner,  and  winsome  inflec 
tions  of  voice. 

"  W-er-w-er-y,  some  people  simply  smell  news  be 
fore  it  is  baked ;  so,  of  course,  six  automobiles  caught 
up  with  us  and  we  almost  received  full  punishment  for 
running  away,  didn't  we,  Tom !  " 

Tom  squeezed  the  red-lark's  wing  for  reply,  as  she 
hopped  over  a  fallen  hemlock  trunk. 

"  Pray  how  far  have  you  walked,  you  bride  of  yes 
terday?" 

"  I  saw  the  Charles  River  crowded  with  skaters  as 
we  came  through  Boston  and  nothing  would  do  but 
that  Tom  buy  me  some  skates,  and  then,  after  we  had 
had  a  try  on  the  river,  he  suggested  that  we  walk  from 
the  station  and  cut  across  the  lake  and  slip  in  on  you 
all,  and  so  we  did — 

"  You  are  romantic  to  lead  her  to  your  hearth 
stone  through  the  aisles  of  Nature's  temples  benisoned 
with  the  incense  of  heaven's  day." 

Mattee  Sue  broke  in  impulsively, — 


The  House  of  Landell  399 

'Twine,  twine  and  intertwine, 
Breath  of  oak  and  breath  of  pine, 
Till  the  inner  life,  of  God, 
Incense  sends  from  sky  to  sod. 

Twine,  twine  and  intertwine, 

Soul  of  you  with  soul  of  mine, 

Till  the  longings  of  my  heart, 

Root    in   strength   thy   powers   impart.'" 

Agnes'  heart  gave  a  leap.  The  stanzas  were  hers, 
sent  off,  shyly,  on  a  journey  to  the  world  of  literature, 
and  given  space  in  a  magazine. 

"  Doesn't  that  just  express  it! "  said  Mattee  Sue. 

"  That  sounds  familiar,"  meditated  Tom.  "  Where 
did  you  get  it,  O  lark  with  the  red,  red  wing — on  your 
hat!  Jupiter,  didn't  you  write  that,  Agnes?  " 

"  Yes,"  returned  Agnes. 

"How  perfectly  lovely!"  said  Mattee  Sue,  enthu 
siastically.  "  And  to  think  that  before  I  ever  had  met 
you  face  to  face,  I  had  found  you  out  in  spirit,  through 
your  lovely,  lovely  thoughts !  " 

Mattee  Sue's  triumph  was  complete.  Tom  could  see 
that!  The  slight  tension,  which,  despite  his  courage, 
he  had  felt,  relaxed.  He  was  himself  once  more.  He 
had  been  sure  of  his  father  and  mother,  and,  in  a  way, 
of  Agnes — but  it  was  all  right,  now,  anyway.  He 
heaved  a  sigh  of  deep  relief. 

Mattee  Sue  heard  the  sigh,  looked  at  him  compre- 
hendingly,  and  twinkled.  Then  she  turned  her  atten 
tion  to  the  grand  old  trees  and  the  wonderful  land 
scape  of  the  splendid  parks,  admiring  and  exclaiming 
with  her  delicious  little  portamentos  and  crescendoes 
of  speech,  until  Agnes  was  captured  wholly  beyond  re 
treat. 

The  long  stretch  of  driveway  was  reached,  and  the 
dear  old  home  rose  before  them.  Mattee  Sue  stopped 


400  The  House  of  Landell 

suddenly,  pausing,  alert,  like  a  bird  ready  for  flight, 
her  rich  furs  trailing  the  snow  and  the  red  wing 
gleaming  in  the  sunshine. 

"  Your  home!  "  she  said  softly,  floating  the  thought 
into  melody  of  sound,  "  Your  home !  " 

Agnes  walked  on,  feeling  the  sacredness  of  the  little 
sister's  entrance  into  a  new  life,  but  with  a  sense  of 
great  loss  engulfing  her.  Personal  love !  What  should 
she  do  without  the  old-time  nearness  of  her  brother — 
her  second  self! — But  Mattee  Sue  caught  her  arm. 

"  No,  never !  "  she  said  emphatically,  "  Never !  I 
want  to  go  in  with  you,  Agnes,  with  you  and  Tom — 
the  dear  souls,  whose  love,  my  love  shall  cement  the 
stronger !  We  will  go  in  together!  " 

So,  with  the  flash  of  the  red-bird's  wing,  Mattee  Sue, 
with  the  "  morn  of  her  matchless  eyes,"  entered  her 
heart's  abode. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

"  He  liveth  best  who  loveth  best." 

Coleridge. 

AGNES  grew,  at  once,  enthusiastically  fond  of  her 
sister,  who,  in  her  winsome  way,  nestled  into  the  heart 
of  Agnes'  ideals,  listening  intently  where  she  could  not 
follow,  and  loving,  always.  With  gentle  insistence, 
the  newcomer  made  her  pull  out  stacks  of  nearly  for 
gotten  manuscript,  and  revelled  in  the  love  stories,  and 
raved  over  the  poems,  generously  seeing  no  fault 
therein,  and  refusing  to  permit  any  unkindly  criticisms 
from  the  author. 

"  You  must  stop  saying  horrid  things  of  my  sister, 
Agnes  Landell,"  she  would  say  prettily,  stopping  her 
ears,  "Please,  please  don't  spoil  these  beautiful  things 
for  me  by  being  cruel  to  them !  " 

This  comradeship  was  an  unutterable  delight  to 
Tom.  The  one  regret  in  the  joy  of  his  marriage  with 
his  bird  of  the  red,  red  wing,  had  been  the  fear  of  sad 
dening  his  beloved  sister,  who,  though  surrounded  by 
so  much,  seemed,  in  some  inexplicable  manner,  to  be 
closed  away  from  life's  joyousness.  To  find,  that,  in 
stead  of  loss,  he  had  brought  her  gain  was  delight  to 
his  soul. 

Still,  as  days  went  on,  there  reappeared  in  her,  a 
pensiveness — the  monotone  of  unrest. 

"  Ross  Mevin  is  in  love  with  her  and  she  doesn't 
know  it,"  said  Mrs.  Landell,  one  day,  when  sounds 
from  the  organ  penetrated  the  room  where  she  and 
her  husband  were  waiting  to  see  Tom  and  Mattee  Sue 

401 


4O2  The  House  of  Landell 

off  on  a  skating  trip,  "  I  certainly  shall  have  to  ask 
her  to  stop  playing.  It  is  like  the  wail  of  a  lost  soul." 

"  '  He  restoreth  her  soul/  Helen,"  said  Mr.  Landell, 
happily. 

"Do  you  have  a  Bible  text  for  every  occasion?" 
Tom  looked  at  his  father,  reverently. 

"  There  is  one  there  to  fill  every  need,  laddie !  " 

"  I  did  not  agree  with  you  about  Ross."  As  usual, 
Mrs.  Landell  drew  her  husband  from  the  universal  to 
the  personal  aspect  of  the  case  in  hand.  "  But  after  I 
saw  him  at  Lodesminster,  I  felt  sure  of  it.  Do  you 
know,  I  believe  that  what  agitated  Agnes  the  morning 
we  received  his  invitations  was  that  she  believed  they 
were  his  wedding  invitations, — what  are  you  laughing 
at ! — You  knew  it  all  the  time !  If  you  knew  so  much, 
why  did  you  not  urge  her  to  go  with  us  ?  " 

"  It  is  best  as  it  is.    She  must  waken  herself." 

"  Can't  there  be  any  more  Kathleen  Mavourneens  in 
this  new  idea  of  unfoldment?"  asked  Tom,  with  a 
twinkle  in  his  eyes.  "  Then  I  am  ail-gloriously  glad  I 
got  in  my  nineteenth  century  love-making  before  the 
twentieth  grew  old  enough  to  prevent  it,"  and  he 
beamed  over  at  Mattee  Sue  who  just  then  entered  the 
room,  skates  in  hand.  It  took  but  a  moment  for  Tom 
to  acquire  his,  and  the  two  soon  disappeared  among 
the  pines. 

In  a  short  time  they  were  at  the  lake.  Tom  had 
strapped  on  their  skates  and  the  two  were  flashing  here 
and  there  over  the  silver  ice,  now  dancing,  now  poising 
like  birds  for  flight,  now  racing  with  each  other, 
Mattee  Sue  entranced  with  the  novel  exercise,  until, 
exhilarated  with  the  wonder  of  it,  they  burst  into 
joyous  laughter. 

"  Isn't  it  splendid !  "  exclaimed  Tom  rapturously. 
"  And  isn't  it  fortunate  the  dear  little  Southern  girl 


The  House  of  Landell  403 

knows  how  to  skate !  Did  you  ever  believe  love  could 
be  so  wonderful !  " 

"  W'y,  of  co'se,"  parried  Mattee  Sue.  "  You  don't 
suppose  I  ever  would  limit  myself!  I  expand,  my 
dear,  expand !  " 

"  Indeed,  you  do,  you  darling !  You  make  me  ex 
pand,  too !  So  much  so,  that  I  burst  a  button  off  my 
coat  the  other  day  when  I  went  to  fasten  it;  and  I 
burnt  up  a  lot  of  theses  I  wrote  before  I  married  you, 
and  had  intended  using  this  winter." 

"  Has  marriage  made  you  so  wise ! "  teased  Mattee 
Sue.  "If  you  will  permit  me  to  say  so,  it  should  have 
made  you  realize  how  little  you  know  about  love! 
First  place,  it  mustn't  inspire  you  to  destroy  old  theses, 
but  to  keep  them,  in  order  to  study  them  in  new  lights. 
Calling  Agnes'  love  affairs,  negative  slumps,  as  you 
did  this  afternoon,  and  then,  contrary  to  all  your  pro 
fessional  theories,  worrying  over  her  as  well.  W'y ! 
Any  fourteen-year-old  girl  in  Gustaga  could  have  told 
you  long  ago  w'at  ails  her,  and  w'y  she  is  thinking  of 
some  impossible  man  to  match  up  with,  as  you  say  she 
is  to  your  terror,  and  would  know  that  that  wail  on 
the  organ  is  the  recitative  before  the  dramatic  en 
trance  of  the  doctor  who  arrives  to  sing  the  aria  as  to 
w'ether  the  symptoms  are  caused  by  terrapin  or  crab 
out  of  season.  If  I  knew  your  sea  about  here,  I  could 
quickly  pick  out  the  identical  fish  that  is  causing  the 
spasm." 

"  What  a  mixture  of  metaphors!  " 

"  I  don't  care !  I  prefer  to !  It's  like  that  salad  we 
had  yesterday,  ice  cream, — mayonnaise,  dinner  and 
desert  all  at  once." 

"  Here  comes  one  of  them,  now,"  said  Tom,  as,  just 
then,  Mr.  Herman  was  seen  skirting  the  side  of  the 
lake  near  which  they  were  slowly  skating. 


404  The  House  of  Landell 

Mattee  Sue  poised  and  studied  the  approaching 
figure  intently. 

"  W'y !  It's  my  minister  I  have  grown  to  love  be 
cause  he  understands  all  that  may  be  going  on  under 
the  sunshine  of  you,  to  make  it  warm  and  life-giving 
instead  of  burning  and  killing, — the  pain,  the  sorrow, 
the  life  rain,  you  know!  What  a  beautiful  face  he 
has!  Oh!  But  he  has  been  through  a  lot!  He  is 
coming  out  of  it,  though !  "  Her  voice  had  an  awe 
struck  quality.  His  life  is  being  glorified  by  what 
has  come  into  it.  A  shadow  rests  upon  it  still;  but  it 
will  be  gone  soon,  and  his  face  reminds  me  of  the  deep 
long  shadows — the  purple  ones,  that  are  purple  because 
the  blood-red  of  the  sun  coming  up  from  under  the 
hills  in  the  day  dawn,  is  behind  it.  I  love  to  hear  him, 
Tom.  I  never  knew  anything  so  wonderful  as  those 
noon  services  w'en  you  go 'into  the  church,  with  never 
a  soul  to  speak  to  you,  and  think  of  Father  Ryan's 

" '  I  walk  down  the  valley  of  silence, 

Down  the  dim,  mystic  valley,  alone, 
And  the  hush  of  my  heart  is  as  holy 
As  hovers  where  angels  have  flown.' 

"  Then  '  without  sound  of  trumpets,'  a  voice  steals 
into  your  consciousness,  speaking  with  the  clearness 
and  simplicity  of  a  child,  and  with  a  heart-touch  in  it, 
— not  put  on — but  the  sort  that  makes  you  sure  he 
knows  w'at  your  heartache  means  to  you,  because  he 
has  one  all  the  time;  but  that  you  may  take  cheer,  be 
cause  his  is  teaching  him,  and  yours  may  teach  you, 
till,  bye  and  bye,  though  the  pain  never  goes,  you  will 
glory  in  it,  because  it  teaches  you  so  much!  " 

They  skated  on  silently,  love  strengthening  its  power 
between  them  as  they  moved  side  by  side.  Mr.  Her 
man  still  walked  along  the  side  of  the  lake  unknowing 
of  their  presence  and  the  light  fell  upon  him  with  a 


The  House  of  Landell  405 

peculiar  urging  power  as  if  to  awake  in  him  that  which 
slept.     Mattee  Sue  went  tenderly  on, — 

"  Then  you  go  out  with  no  human  hand  or  voice 
coming  in  between  you  and  the  thought  that  you  are 
one  with  the  Great  Eternal.  I  was — I  must  confess — 
just  as  homesick  as  I  could  be  the  other  day,  and  I 
went  in  there.  Wen  I  came  out,  I  felt  as  if  I  was  in 
heaven  and  heaven  was  in  me.  A  woman  sat  in  front 
of  me.  She  had  stolen  in  with  a  traveling  bag  in  her 
hand — looked  as  if  she  might  have  skipped  a  train  to 
go  to  the  service.  She  was  crying;  but  w'en  she  came 
out  she  was  in  peace.  Then,  there  was  a  splendid  look 
ing  man.  He  seemed  desperate  w'en  he  sat  down ;  but 
w'en  he  went  out,  he  walked  like  a  king.  It  is  beauti 
ful — the  true  idea,  I  think — Mr.  Herman  wasn't  made 
to  marry,  though.  Some  people  aren't,  you  know,— 
with  a  pretty  air  of  wisdom.  "  Poor  things,  they 
go  through  life  like  a  bird  born  with  a  broken  wing 
and  don't  know  they  are  missing  anything  because  they 
never  have  known  w'at  it  is  to  fly." 

"  You  darling !  "  murmured  Tom. 

"  I  suppose  the  dear  Lord  makes  it  up  to  them,  some 
how,  though — though  I'm  awfully  sorry  for  them." 

As  the  minister  turned  away  from  the  lake  shore 
and  passed  from  sight,  Tom  moved  closer  to  her. 

"  It  is  so  lovely  to  know  you  are  some  one's  onty- 
donty,  and  he  is  yours,  and  that  if  he  flies,  he  needs 
you  for  the  little  pin  feathers  that  keep  him  still  in 
the  air,  doing  nothing,  seemingly,  like  our  wonderful 
buzzards  with  the  big  wings  that  show,  and  the  mil 
lions  of  little  air  balloons  underneath  them — that  don't 
look  as  if  they  would  amount  to  anything  but  mean 
so  much." 

Tom  came  closer,  and  captured  her  arm. 

"  That's  w'y  we  women  talk  all  the  time,  maybe,— 
though  I've  never  known  any  good  reason  for  it  before. 


406  The  House  of  Landell 

No,  no,  Mr.  Herman  isn't  the  one  for  Agnes.  As  a 
man,  he  will  pass  out  of  her  life,  I  can  tell  you  that! 
As  a  person,  he  has  nothing  to  do  with  her  heart.  Per 
haps  something  about  him,  has,  though." 

Tom  stopped  still  in  astonishment. 

"  Mattee  Sue,  you  little  wizard!  You  are  perfectly 
right !  How  did  you  know !  " 

"  I  don't  know  w'at  you  know  I  know ;  but  I  know 
it !  "  retorted  Mattee  Sue  in  her  usual  succinct  manner. 

"I  will  tell  you!  She  has  been  believing, —  "  and 
Tom  sketched  the  history  of  Agnes'  soul-questioning, 
as  he  understood  it. 

"  Marry  a  man  for  an  idea  of  something  else !  Tom, 
it  is  very  strange  w'at  little  common  sense  some  very 
superior  persons  have!  W'y!  Even  I  would  know 
better  than  that!  Do  you  suppose  I  ever  would  have 
married  you  because  you  didn't  like  it  that  I  answered 
your  letters?  I  might  come  to  love  skulls  and  degen 
erates  because  of  you;  but  never  you,  because  I  pre 
ferred  skulls  and  degenerates." 

"  That  is  a  very  sweet  compliment  and  I'm  awfully 
glad  I  got  you." 

He  looked  adoringly  at  the  winsome  creature  who 
became  more  and  more  radiant  as  the  sharp  air  vital 
ized  her  and  her  thoughts  sang  through  her  being. 

"  You  are  unutterably  adorable !  But  how  can  one 
help  Agnes?" 

"  We  will  have  to  show  her  how  absolutely  necessary 
it  is  for  the  right  woman  to  marry  the  right  man  in 
order  to  make  something  of  him.  To  begin  her  instruc 
tion,  you  must  do  positively  everything  I  say  and  let 
her  see  w'at  six  months  with  a  wise  woman  can  make 
of  you!" 

"  What's  the  matter  with  me  now !  "  said  Tom,  a 
trifle  nettled,  for  fine  and  well-balanced  as  he  was,  even 
he  would  have  his  wife  find  him  perfect. 


The  House  of  Landell 


407 


"  Well,  for  one  thing,  you  are  very  bossy !  "  skating 
close  to  him  and  removing  an  imaginary  speck  of  dust 
from  the  lapel  of  his  coat,  while  her  face  came  into 
proximity  to  his  own,  and  the  inevitable  ensued. 

"  Now  after  this  ocular  and  osculatory  exhibition  in 
full  view  of  the  highway,  we  certainly  should  be  able  to 
combine  to  help  this  sister  of  yours,"  and  Mattee  Sue 
finally  disengaged  herself  and  adjusted  her  hat.  "  You 
see,  she  is  wandering  down  strange  and  untrodden 
paths.  I  suppose  she  never  has  flirted  in  all  of  her 
little  life,  and,  if  she  attempted  it,  it  would  be  with 
elephantine  dignity  over  the  saving  of  souls  instead  of 
attending  to  her  business  of  making  two  souls  perfectly 
happy,  and  incidentally,  throwing  arms  about  any 
others  who  come  within  her  reach.  You  wouldn't  ex 
pect  to  be  able  to  construct  a  skeleton,  would  you,  if 
you  didn't  know  bones  ?  " 

"  No,  I  suppose  Emerson  is  right  when  he  says  the 
village  boy  selects  his  wife  without  the  risk  that  Milton 
deplores  as  incident  to  the  selection  of  scholars  and 
geniuses." 

"  You  didn't  have  to  go  to  Emerson  for  that,  did 
you ! "  cooed  Mattee  Sue,  her  tones  and  manner  mak 
ing  her  banter  delicious,  "  I  felt  all  a-quiver  with  mod 
esty  w'en  I  came  up  here,  I  thought  you  Yankees  were 
so  wise;  but  you  all  seem  patterned  after  your  family 
doctor — excepting  your  blessed  father.  I  see  your 
-<?Esculapius  making  his  trips  in  the  village  with  a  bag 
full  of  big  volumes.  I  suppose  he  sits  by  the  bedside 
of  his  patient  and  proves  his  diagnosis  by  the  case 
some  one  else  has  had  under  totally  different  circum 
stances." 

"  That's  not  fair !  "  flamed  Tom  hotly. 

"  Oh,  yes  it  is,"  Mattee  Sue  was  unperturbed.  "  Lots 
of  you  don't  dare  to  praise  an  art  exhibition  until 
you've  read  the  Boston  Transcript! " 


408  The  House  of  Landell 

Tom,  who,  with  Agnes,  generally  attempted  to  carry 
arguments  to  a  finish,  stopped  and  giggled  like  a  boy 
as  he  gently  twitched  Mattee  Sue's  stole  into  place,  tak 
ing  care  to  let  his  finger  trail  lightly  across  the  exquisite 
outline  of  her  chin  as  if  it  were  a  necessary  part  of  the 
adjustment. 

Meanwhile,  Agnes  had  wandered  away  from  the 
organ  and  an  hour  later  found  herself  near  the  green 
houses. 

Hi-Timmy,  who  was  spending  some  days  at  the  Lan- 
dells',  had  been  set  to  repotting  some  palms  for  the 
house.  Agnes  saw  him,  now,  in  a  violent  rage  at  his 
inability  to  make  one  of  them  stand  in  its  tub  as  he 
wished  it  to.  Tom  and  Mattee  Sue,  skates  over 
shoulders,  were  standing  near  him. 

"  Pouf,  Hi-Timmy,  you  are  growing  old  too  fast 
and  not  in  the  right  way,"  Tom  was  saying.  "  Just 
look  at  that  wrinkled-up  face  of  yours !  Did  you  know 
that  every  time  you  are  angry,  you  form  for  your  body 
something  that  stiffens  you  all  up?  Your  skin  will 
wrinkle  up  like  a  monkey's;  you  will  grow  stiff  and 
dry  as  if  you  had  rheumatism  and  your  perspiration 
will  smell  like  a  brimstone  factory.  Chemicalize  your 
self  with  the  right  sort  of  feeling.  Learn  to  do  what 
you  want  to  with  yourself  and  you  will  have  no  trouble 
in  making  plants,  or  anything  else,  stand  up  to  time." 

Agnes  stood  by  silent.  Her  face  had  been  wrinkled 
and  she  had  been  on  the  point  of  assisting  Hi-Timmy. 
She  had  refrained  from  helping  with  her  hands 
though  all  the  while  striving  to  inoculate  him  through 
her  mind,  with  will- forcing  methods,  though  for 
months  she  had  been  realizing  that  the  real  way  to  help 
is  to  open  avenues  of  self-help.  Why,  she  was  aching 
as  if  wrenches  were  being  applied  to  her  body!  Was 
she  so  poor  a  chemist  of  embodiment  as  that, — to  en 
case  her  soul  in  a  poor  frail  body  instead  of  a  glad  and 


The  House  of  Landell  409 

healthy  one?  Right  here  there  came  to  her  another 
link  in  the  chain  of  her  understanding  in  relation  to 
her  living  the  life, — that  wholly  upon  the  coordination 
existing  between  each  muscle  and  the  brain  centre  con 
trolling  it,  depends  the  expression  of  thought  which 
is,  at  once,  the  thread  of  continuity  and  the  fibre  of 
the  instrument.  She  began  to  realize  the  internal 
meaning  of  Tom's  words,  spoken  to  her  long  ago, 
"  You  abhor  nothing  that  you  do  not  fear,"  and  saw 
that  to  doubt,  for  one  minute,  one's  right  to  possess  the 
most  beautiful  in  daily  life,  to  the  outermost  periphery, 
is  to  lose  sight  of  the  God  that  thrills  in  us  and  through 
us.  "  If  we  can  perceive  beauty  in  everything  of  God's 
doings,  we  may  argue  that  we  have  reached  the  true 
perception  of  universal  law." 

In  that  moment  was  revealed  to  her  that  what  had 
seemed  vicarious  suffering  was  but  the  expression  of 
kinship.  As  in  a  flash,  the  picture  of  Jesus  in  the 
temple,  with  his  earnest  speaking  face,  came  before  her, 
and  she  could  hear  him  say,  "  Don't  you  understand 
now  why  I  came  into  the  world?  " 

Watching  Hi-Timmy  in  his  crudity  grow  out  of  his 
passion  and  his  face  become  serene  and  noble  through 
the  aspiration  of  right  doing,  there  sang  in  her  heart 
the  words  that  she  had  loved,  as  a  little  child,  before 
her  mind  was  enshrouded  in  the  world's  strained  ideas 
of  monstrous  brutality  towards  the  Liver  of  the  Life 
and  the  Redeemer  through  example, — 

"I  think,  when  I  read  that  sweet  story  of  old, 

When  Jesus  walked  among  men, 
How  he  called  little  children  as  lambs  to  his  fold, 
I  should  like  to  have  been  with  him  then." 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

"  I  lift  my  cap  to  beauty, 

I  lift  my  cap  to  love; 
I  bow  before  my  duty, 

And  know  that  God's  above! 
My  heart,  through  shining  arches 

Of  leaf  and  blossom  goes; 
My  soul,  triumphant,  marches, 

Through  life  to  life's  repose. 
rAnd  I,  through  all  this  glory 

Nor  know  nor  fear  my  fate, — 
The  great  things  are  so  simple, 

The  simple  are  so  great." 

Fred  G.  Bowles. 

"ToM,  I  am  absolutely  obliged  to  have  some  men 
about  me."  Mattee  Sue  pulled  out  a  big  box  of  neck 
ties  and  proceeded  to  tie  one  under  her  husband's  un 
willing  chin. 

"  I  don't  like  that  one,"  he  writhed,  "  I  will  not  wear 
it.  Besides,  I  have  my  dinner  coat  on." 

"  W-oh-er-w-y,  that  doesn't  matter,  dear,  it  is  simply 
a  part  of  the  plan  to  straighten  Agnes  out,"  returned 
Mattee  Sue,  wickedly.  "  She  knows  you  despise  this 
tie,  for  you  told  me  so  before  her,  the  day  I  brought  it 
home  from  town  and  gave  it  to  you.  If  you  can  make 
her  see  that  a  woman  a  man  loves  can  even  induce  him 
to  wear  a  necktie  he  doesn't  like, — and  no  doubt  she  has 
heard  that  that  is  a  stupendous  piece  of  diplomacy, — if 
she  sees  that, — I  don't  see  how  she  can  possibly  fail, 
though  unconsciously,  to  wish  to  emulate  like  proceed 
ings  on  a  subject  especially  her  own.  So  now,  dear,  as 

410 


The  House  of  Landell  411 

you  really  don't  look  half  bad,  I  am  sure,  that,  for 
Agnes'  sake,  you  will  keep  it  on!  " 

Tom  tugged  inanely  at  the  tie  for  a  second,  then 
weakened  and  laughed. 

"  I  declare,  Red-bird,  you  are  making  a  perfect  softy 
out  of  me/'  For  an  instant  there  was  a  sweet  silence 
from  which  Mattee  Sue  emerged  rapturously  happy, 
remarking  critically, 

"  Your  mouth  grows  better  looking  every  day.  The 
lips  were  held  too  close  together  before  I  married  you, 
as  if  one  would  have  to  saw  through  steel  gates  to 
change  your  will.  You  see,  the  position  of  your  mouth 
in  the  act  of  osculation,  rounds  it,  and— 

"  Here  goes  for  more  improvement!  "  The  process 
was  repeated.  "  Yes,  Red-bird,  you  surely  are  mak 
ing  me  soft!  " 

"  Oh,  no,  Tom,  I  have  not  even  begun  on  you  yet," 
giving  a  little  final  twitch  to  her  radiant  scarlet  gown. 
"  And  now  about  the  men,  dear!  " 

"  Mattee  Sue,  you're  crazy !  " 

"  No,  indeed !  It's  just  a  part  of  this  plan  of  mine, 
for  Agnes'  sake,  to  teach  her  how  to  objectify,  you 
know !  Just  get  a  good  lot  of  samples  for  me  and  I 
will  test  them  out  before  her  just  as  I  am  showing  you 
these."  She  spread  a  lot  of  dress  samples  before  his 
puzzled  gaze. 

"  What  do  you  mean !  " — jealously  —  "  I  hope, 
Mattee  Sue,  you  are  not  finding  my  company  insuffi 
cient,—" 

"  Tush  and  Bimmy  Bimkins,  you  treasure !  "  Mat- 
tee  Sue  hugged  him.  "  Get  me  the  men  and  we  will  see. 
Agnes  is  like  a  child  I  knew,  who  found  the  picture  of 
a  donkey  in  her  primer,  and  when  finally  she  saw  a 
real  one,  vigorously  and  with  mighty  squalls,  de 
nounced  it  as  no  donkey,  because  it  didn't  seem  to  her 
like  the  paper  one.  She  writes  about  men,  and,  in 


412  The  House  of  Landell 

manuscript  they  do  as  she  pleases.  Of  course,  that 
pleases  a  woman  very  much, —  to  have  them  do  just 
what  she  wants  them  to.  You  don't  always  get  that  in 
real  life, — except  from  such  darlings  as  you!  " 

Delicately,  she  adjusted  the  ugly  necktie,  hiding  the 
flash  of  merriment  by  lowering  her  radiant  eyes  to  his 
coat  collar.  "  So,  w'en  it  takes  so  much  trouble — and 
it  really  does,  you  know, — to  find  out  w'ether  real  men 
are  good  for  anything  or  not,  she  grows  tired  of  them 
and  goes  back  to  paper  dolls.  She  can  shut  her  paper 
heroes  up  in  a  desk  w'en  she  gets  puzzled  over  their 
methods.  You  can't  do  that  to  real  men.  They  make 
such  an  awful  fuss  you  can't  even  get  the  cover  down. 
They  are  sure  to  pop  up  just  as  you  think  you  are  turn 
ing  the  key  on  them.  Now  if  she  can  see  me  with  them 
and  take  them  in  hand  and  put  them,  every  one,  just 
w'ere  they  belong,  it  will  be  a  very  great  help." 

"  She  can  gain  plenty  of  information  watching  us." 
Again  Tom  tugged  faintly  at  his  necktie,  but  again  re 
lented. 

"  W-oh-w-er-y,  possibly  so," — coolly,  "  but  you  don't 
care,  so  we  save  Agnes." 

"  Save  Agnes,  you  little  tyrant."  He  hugged  Mattee 
Sue,  this  time  so  enthusiastically  that  her  hair  tumbled 
down  and  she  had  to  do  it  up  again  before  sparkling 
into  the  dining-room  with  her  plumage  of  the  semi- 
tropical  clime  adding  charm  and  vitality  to  the  sedate- 
ness  of  the  somewhat  stately  household,  and  leading 
Tom,  with  a  vivid  four-in-hand  streaming  down  the 
white  shirt  front  of  his  evening  dress. 

"  The  proverbial  monkey  on  a  stick,  father,"  he  said 
grimly,  as  his  entrance  was  hailed  with  laughter.  "  Did 
mother  put  you  through  the  tricks  and  stunts  of  initia 
tion  when  you  were  first  married?  " 

"  Yes,  laddie,"  laughed  Mr.  Landell,  "  and  forever 
since." 


The  House  of  Landell  413 

Mattee  Sue  drew  down  her  father-in-law's  head  and 
kissed  its  silvered  crown  as  she  passed  to  her  place. 

"  Oh,  crown  of  glory,"  she  whispered  softly.  "  Isn't 
it,  mother!" 

Affectionately  she  squeezed  Mrs.  Landell's  hand  be 
fore  she  took  her  seat. 

"  What  do  you  say,  mother,  to  my  bringing  Dick 
Brentford  to  dinner  to-morrow  night?  I  saw  him  the 
other  day  in  town.  He  is  conducting  some  experiments 
that  have  brought  him  East  for  awhile." 

"  I  wish  you  would.  I  miss  the  young  people  you 
and  Agnes  used  to  bring  about  us.  Agnes  has  been 
altogether  too  quiet  since  Alicia  is  no  longer  here  to 
give  her  the  zest  of  companionship.  I  hope  you  will 
inspire  her,  little  bride." 

"  I  thank  you,  mother,"  said  Tom  with  a  stiffness 
Mattee  Sue  covered  by  her  enthusiastic  response.  "  We 
must  make  cotton  while  the  sun  shines,"  she  concluded, 
"  for  no  one  knows  how  soon  we  shall  flit  over  to 
Lodesminster  to  nest." 

Agnes'  heart  gave  a  quick  throb,  followed  by  sense 
of  darkness  and  loss. 

"  Are  you  really  going  away,  my  little  Mattee  Sue?  " 
she  said  sadly.  "  How  I  love  to  speak  your  name.  It 
fascinated  me  the  first  time  I  saw  it  in  the  old  brown 
rhetoric.  I  shall  miss  calling  it  through  the  halls,  for 
since  you  have  come  to  us,  it  seems  as  if  you  had 
always  been  with  us,  Mattee  Sue !  " 

Mattee  Sue  laughed  gaily. 

"  I  am  ever  so  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  compli 
ment  and  I  am  glad  some  one  likes  that  dreadful  up- 
country  fashion  of  fastening  two  names  together.  I 
confess,  I  don't.  It  is  the  bore  of  my  existence.  The 
coast  people  laugh  at  us  for  doing  it,  though  it  is  con 
sidered  wholly  Southern  instead  of  being  just  a  local 
ism.  I  want  to  be  called  Elizabeth.  I  love  that  name !  " 


414  The  House  of  Landell 

"My  Mona  Lise.  Isn't  that  near  enough?"  said 
Tom. 

"  You  will  have  to  dignify  me  by  some  other  name 
than  that  tit-tat-two,  if  I  am  to  ta'ke  any  standing  as 
the  wife  of  a  scientist!  -But  really.  Agnes,  it  is  not  at 
all  settled  about  our  going  to  Lodesminster.  Dr.  "\Yehr 
thinks  it  will  dissociate  the  children  from  old  associa 
tions,  and  be  far  more  to  their  advantage  to  have  the 
school  here.'' 

"  Why  not  send  for  Mevin  to  make  us  a  visit  and 
thrash  out  the  question?"  said  Mr.  Landell. 

Agnes  rose  quickly  and  preceded  the  family  to  the 
library,  a  sweet  radiance  illumining  her  face.  Mattee 
Sue,  walking  on  behind  her,  with  her  husband,  grabbed 
him  by  the  coat  sleeve  and,  with  an  excited  little  gurgle, 
whispered, 

"  I've  caught  the  terrapin  for  Agnes'  stew." 

Then,  with  a  merry  attempt  at  doggerel,  she  com 
pleted  the  sentence  softly,  in  rhyme, — 

"  And  before  she  knows  it,  she  shall  eat  it,  too." 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

"  He  who  would  climb  the  high  white  peaks  of  peace 
Must  first  have  plumbed  pain's  nethermost  abyss." 

THE  look  Mattee  Sue  had  discerned  on  Philip  Her 
man's  face  was  still  more  noticeable  the  next  evening 
as,  after  service,  he  went  into  the  grove  adjoining  the 
house  where  he  and  his  mother  lived. 

Struggling  back  to  life  and  its  actualities,  he  had 
descended  from  the  lonely  mountain  cottage  to  teach 
the  realities  of  life  to  the  people  of  Beneby.  With 
each  succeeding  moon,  the  phoenix  that  rose  from  the 
spiritual  fire  which  burned  that  memorable  night  at 
the  old  church  had  grown;  but  he  himself  felt  like  a 
dead  thing.  He  never  had  been  alive  since  that  day 
he  now  was  recalling  for  the  thousandth  time — the  day 
when  a  bit  of  paper  had  heralded  to  him.  as  it  had  to 
the  world,  his  entrance  into  the  ranks  of  paupers. 

That  dreadful  day!  He  remembered  lying  motion 
less  for  hours,  while  the  gnomes  of  darkness  stole  over 
the  quiet  house,  and  his  mother's  eyes  flashed  from  out 
the  gloom  like  burning  coals  of  fire.  He  heard  the 
wind  rise  and  fall  in  the  chimney,  and  a  fox  scream, 
as,  frightened,  it  ran  near  the  house  on  its  way  to 
its  forest  coverts.  Clouds  scudded  across  the  sky,  and 
with  an  increasing  horror  at  the  thought  of  facing  life 
with  the  brand  of  the  beggar  on  his  brow,  he  watched 
the  '  gray  fingers  of  the  dawn  clutching  at  the  morning 
stars.'  He  could  not  forget!  Nay,  he  never  intended 
to  forget. 

This  evening  he  was  living  it  all  again  and  the 
grove  was  his  garden  of  Gethsemane. 

415 


4i 6  The  House  of  Landell 

For  a  thousandth  time  he  recalled  himself  a  fair- 
haired  boy  in  a  home  of  affluence,  of  which  intelligence 
was  the  guiding  star;  then  the  years  of  intense  emo 
tionalism  at  college  when  he  was  laved  in  a  sea  of  sug 
gestion.  He  remembered  kneeling  for  hours  in  his 
chamber,  contemplating,  as  the  ultimate  of  spiritual 
power,  the  limited  conceptions  of  a  man-made  spirit. 
He  had  dreamed  of  drawing  all  men  to  him, — not  a 
few  fishermen,  but  scholars  and  statesmen.  When  he 
had  felt  himself  prepared  and  equipped  with  what  he 
considered  incontrovertible  proofs  of  truth,  he  entered 
the  ministry  without  having  gained  one  glimpse  of 
reality,  encompassed  with  hot  imaginings  of  the  brain 
which  he  had  mistaken — oh  the  pity  of  it ! — for  spirit 
ual  vision. 

With  a  rude  awakening,  he  found  himself  involved 
in  commercialism  less  dignified  than  that  of  the  mar 
ket.  At  the  meeting  places  of  ministers,  white-faced 
men  had  plucked  him  by  the  sleeve  to  say  with  voices 
quivering  with  hunger  and  fear, 

"  Speak  a  word  for  me,  brother,  and  get  me  a  chance 
to  supply  this  week.  My  wife  is  sick  and  I  have  no 
bread." 

"  A  travesty  on  the  name,"  he  had  exclaimed  im 
patiently  as  he  turned  from  these  hawkers  in  the  temple, 
believing  himself  their  superior. 

Meanwhile  disgust  was  growing  into  wrath  that  the 
ology  and  Christ-teaching  should  be  so  widely  divergent 
that  those  speaking  the  one  language  could  scarce  un 
derstand  the  other. 

As  the  money,  which  to  him  was  but  a  bauble,  had 
misted  away,  for  the  first  time  he  had  made  a  definite 
move  toward  the  clerical  business,  as  he  had  come,  sar 
castically,  to  name  it.  To  his  surprise,  he  had  found 
himself,  also,  in  the  group  of  white-faced  men  who 
wait  and  fear  and  starve. 


The  House  of  Landell  417 

As  his  dollars  had  dwindled,  his  spiritual  perceptions 
became  more  and  more  awakened,  but  still  rooted  in 
disgust.  As  he  had  looked  into  the  black  ooze  he 
thought  the  grave  of  his  faith,  he  had  found  life 
therein.  Stirring  toward  the  light  were  the  seeds  of 
pure  religion  striking  root  deep  into  his  experience. 
Their  stems  shot  up,  straight  and  strong,  through  tra 
ditional  misconception.  He  saw  their  leaves  lie  full 
and  fair,  like  lily  pads,  upon  the  bosom  of  research  and 
watched  the  flowers  open  to  the  light. 

The  more  he  thought  upon  this  wonderful  creation 
emerging  slowly  from  human  interpretation,  the  more 
he  withheld  himself  from  any  promises  that  compelled 
fixation  of  outward  expression  of  action  or  of  speech. 

So  he  lived  these  days,  too  nearly  alert  to  sink  again 
into  his  bed  of  ooze  but,  for  the  time,  too  inhibited  by 
this  new  revealment  to  bring  flower  to  fruit  within 
himself. 

When  less  than  a  hundred  dollars  lay  between  them 
and  absolute  penury,  he  had  fallen  ill,  and  when  into 
the  infinite  spaces  his  mother  called  for  help,  and, 
out  of  the  infinite  spaces,  help  came,  he  had  re 
sented  it,  and  had  insulted  her  for  summoning  it.  Even 
now,  the  horror  of  the  call  stood  between  them.  Every 
thing  heralded  his  shame,  and  nothing  could  stifle  the 
clarion  call  that  he  was  a  pauper. 

Then  came  Agnes !  Mingled  with  a  fierce  hatred  of 
her,  was  a  dumb  adoration  that,  although  with  crude 
methods,  mayhap,  still  she  had  saved  him  from  him 
self;  forced  him  to  the  expression  of  the  best  within 
him;  urged  the  correspondence  of  his  noblest  thought 
with  his  noblest  deed,  instead  of  permitting  him  to 
check  his  growth  in  the  nursery  of  his  despair.  Yet, 
even  as  he  thought  of  her,  hatred  surged  through  him, 
and,  silhouetted  against  the  darkening  shadows  of 
his  mind,  venomous  spectres  moved,  pointing  their 


4i 8  The  House  of  Landell 

poisoned  shafts  against  her,  or  holding  forth  robes  of 
influence  wherewith  to  enwrap  her  with  their  folds, 
or  suffocating  her  with  the  chloroforming  anaesthesia 
of  his  unkind  thought.  The  panorama  of  his  mind 
rolled  before  him  as  never  before.  He  stood  appalled 
as  he  saw  the  forces  of  his  resentment,  marshalling  like 
troops,  sweeping  over  a  field  of  battle  from  out  the 
ambush  of  his  own  unkindness,  striving  to  turn  into 
shambles  of  remorse  and  heartache  and  consequent 
depletion  of  health  and  courage  the  life  of  the  one  who 
had  been,  whether  wise  in  her  methods  or  not,  a  sav 
iour  unto  him. 

Breathless,  he  stood  before  this  revelation  of  what 
resentment,  whether  directed  or  undirected,  may  mean 
to  the  object  upon  which  it  falls ! 

He  had  forced  his  way  on,  through  mud  and  ooze, 
growing  towards  the  light.  He  had  done  his  best  to 
speak  without  hypocrisy  and  give  spiritual  food  to 
starving  hearts.  He  had  lived  truth  as  he  knew  it,  and 
had  refused  to  quibble  with  it.  But  as  he  saw  his  mind 
this  night,  he  was  convinced  that  if  a  larger  revelation 
did  not  come  to  him  now,  discouragement  and  shame 
would  kill  his  message  and  that  he  must  die  with  it. 

Strains  of  Mendelssohn's  aria  were  wafted  through 
the  open  window  of  the  room  where  his  mother  was 
singing.  The  exquisite  motif,  "If  with  all  your  hearts 
ye  truly  seek  him,"  caught  in  the  meshes  of  his  mind, 
as  a  floating  gossamer  catches  on  the  hair  of  him  who 
strolls  the  forest  on  an  autumn  day,  nor  would  it 
disentangle  itself. 

"  There  must  be  light !  "  he  said  to  himself.  "  I  must 
clear  my  mind  and  free  my  soul  from  this  horrible 
suffocation  of  spirit !  " 

The  rising  breeze  stirred  the  bare  branches ;  the  silver 
moonlight  played  into  the  garden  and  fell  upon  his 
hand  like  a  caress.  He  noted  it  vaguely,  but  as  it 
lingered  there  insistently,  it  enmeshed  itself  in  his  mind 


The  House  of  Landell  419 

as  the  melody  had  done.  It  moved  upon  his  hand, 
flecked  by  the  undulating  boughs.  A  honey-combed 
shadow  wove  its  message  into  that  of  his  mother's  voice 
and  recalled  her  one-time  words — 

"  Not  as  a  steward  dispensing  food  and  drink,  is  the 
God  your  consciousness  should  cherish.  He  is  the 
Father  of  your  energy;  the  Unit  of  your  manifesta 
tion;  the  Mother  of  your  potency,  brooding  over  the 
chaos  that  is  being  loved  and  cherished  into  the  mani 
fested  you.  Know  that  your  every  cell  is  life.  Be 
still  and  Know  that  I  Am  God." 

"  Every  cell  of  my  being,"  he  mused,  watching  the 
cell-shaped  shadow  move  and  change  shape  upon  his 
hand,  "  brooding  over  the  chaos  which  is  being  born 
into  me, — inseparable  from  all  my  brothers.  Through 
this  Me,  shall  I  learn  to  deal  understandingly  with  all 
expressions  of  life.  7  may  be  the  way,  the  truth,  the 
life  to  others  if  I  understand.  As  I  am  led,  so  may 
I  lead  others  out  of  disgust  and  hatred  into  control, 
tolerance,  endurance  and  into  faith  in  what  they  can 
not,  as  yet,  see.  Moment  by  moment  the  personal 
falls  away,  and  I  realize  that  I  stand  upon  eternal 
verities.  External  assumption  is  always  disintegrated 
by  the  power  of  internal  possession.  I  have  cavilled, 
repudiated,  scorned  meekness  as  lack  of  assertion  ex 
pressing  in  paucity  and  poverty.  Instead,  it  is  the 
strength  of  unity.  The  God  I  have  been  proclaiming 
is  an  effigy  of  myself ;  the  liberty  I  have  heralded  is  the 
bondage  of  slaves.  From  independence  I  have  been 
thrown  into  the  chains  of  dependence  to  be  brought 
into  my  birthright  of  interdependence.  My  evil  cir 
cumstances  were  created  in  the  chaos  of  my  own  un 
conscious  selection;  but  conscious  choice  is  my  inheri 
tance  and  henceforth  shall  be  involved  in  my  crea 
tions.  As  blood  and  lungs  and  heart  and  life,  so  are 
we  inseparable— God  and  I.  My  life  has  lacked  ger- 


42O  The  House  of  Landell 

minating  power,  for  never,  till  now,  has  the  soul  of  my 
desire  expressed  above  the  mental  or  the  emotional. 
Philip  Herman,  declare  the  man  you  truly  are !  " 

With  illumination  now,  he  looked  upon  the  little 
cell-shaped  shadow,  still  moving  on  his  hand.  Then 
he  closed  his  eyes  tightly  against  the  rush  of  burning 
pain  that  pierced  his  eyeballs. 

"  Every  cell,  God !  My  Mother !  "  He  went  into 
the  house. 

Mrs.  Herman  was  placing  Gaul's  "  Holy  City  "  upon 
the  piano  rack.  Philip  crossed  the  room  and  stood  be 
side  her. 

"  My  Mother !  "  he  said,  after  a  silence,  slowly  and 
with  tender  reverence,  "  My  Mother !  " 

Mrs.  Herman  did  not  speak.  She  looked  at  him 
with  love-illumined  eyes. 

Philip  gathered  his  mail  and  left  the  house. 
Through  the  open  window,  his  mother's  voice  followed 
him, — 

"  Eye  hath  not  seen,  ear  hath  not  heard,  neither  has 
it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man,  the  things  prepared 
for  them  that  love  Him." 

He  strode  along  the  well-trodden  footpath  of  the 
village  common  to  the  railroad  station,  whose  lights 
twinkled  some  quarter  of  a  mile  away.  He  held  his 
mail  firmly  in  a  hand  whose  arm  swung  easily,  after 
the  manner  of  a  man  seeking  thorough  exercise.  Here 
tofore,  any  happiness  he  experienced  had  partaken  of 
blind  ecstasy.  Now  it  was  the  heavenly  contemplation 
of  one  who  sees.  His  pace  was  rhythmic,  instead  of 
unexpectedly  swinging  out  of  balance  as  his  mind  was 
swayed  by  waves  of  depression  or  exaltation.  The 
triumph  of  spirit  pervaded  his  being  and  his  hand 
kept  time  to  the  music  of  his  heart's  release. 

Suddenly  a  peculiar  p'st  was  heard,  and  the  paper 
extending  farthest  from  his  hand  was  jarred.  Look- 


The  House  of  Landell  421 

ing  down,  he  saw  that  its  extreme  edge  had  been 
pierced  by  a  bullet.  At  the  same  time  he  heard  boyish 
giggles  behind  him. 

"  Gee !  "  One  of  the  boys  approached  him  as  he 
turned.  "  I  didn't  think  he  could  do  it !  I've  lost  five 
sticks  of  gum  by  that  shot  of  his!  I  bet  the  wrong 
way,  you  see !  " 

"  How  do  you  do!  "  Good-naturedly  Mr.  Herman 
greeted  the  newcomers,  aged,  respectively,  from  ten  to 
fourteen.  "  What  is  that  ?  Slingshot?  Halloo,  Hi- 
Timmy,  you  here,  too ! " 

Hi-Timmy  Tidmouse,  even  with  his  months  and 
years  of  tender  training,  was  a  seclusive  little  mortal, 
and  was  seldom,  of  his  own  choice,  with  other  boys. 
He  did  not  reply;  but  his  silence  passed  unnoticed  in 
the  chattering  of  the  other  two  who  proudly  displayed 
new  parlor  rifles. 

Taking  one  of  the  weapons,  Philip  examined  it  with 
interest,  the  boys  anxiously  awaiting  his  approval  of 
their  newly-acquired  treasures. 

"  They  are  fine  weapons,"  he  continued,  "  so  fine 
they  are  capable  of  doing  a  great  deal  of  harm.  Which 
of  you  made  so  accurate  a  shot,  Roger,  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  and  I  twig  lots  of  robins,  too,  and  almost 
always  get  them." 

"  You  must  like  to  work  in  your  father's  garden 
picking  bugs  from  the  vegetables.  Probably  you 
wouldn't  have  to  do  that,  if  you  boys  would  let  the 
birds  alone." 

"  I  didn't  know  that ! "  Roger  tried  to  catch  step 
with  Philip,  while  the  other  two  little  fellows  trotted 
comfortably  along  on  the  other  side.  "  I  won't  kill 
any  more  of  them,  then." 

"  Here  we  are  at  the  station.  I'm  glad  you  caught 
up  with  me  and  very  glad  that  you  spared  me  my  hand. 


422  The  House  of  Landell 

Be  careful  with  your  shooting.    I  assure  you  it  is  un 
safe.     Good  night !  " 

He  stepped  up  to  the  mail  car  as  the  green  and  red 
signal  lights  flashed  in  the  frosty  air  and  the  train 
came  thundering  down  the  tracks. 

As  he  stood  there,  Mr.  Landell's  car  whirled  up  to 
the  steps,  deposited  Dr.  Brentford,  and  moved  swiftly 
away. 

"  Come  on,"  said  the  eldest  of  the  boys.  "  He's 
awful  nice,  but  I  wouldn't  believe  he'd  be  such  a  muff 
about  shooting !  Hi-Timmy,  want  a  try  ?  It's  a  shame 
you  haven't  one." 

The  rifle  changed  hands,  and,  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye,  was  primed. 

"  I  bet  you  my  new  football  you  can't  hit  the  side 
of  that  car, — oh,  gee  "-—for  with  the  uncanny  accuracy 
often  exhibited  by  the  novice,  the  ball  ploughed  its  way 
to  the  bull's-eye,  which  was  the  flesh  of  the  man  who 
had  just  seated  himself  by  an  open  window  of  the 
train.  As  the  train  swung  round  the  curve,  the  boys 
saw  the  victim  throw  up  his  hands  and  fall  back ;  then 
night  concealed  the  next  chapter  in  the  dreadful 
tragedy. 

"Roger  Trowbridge,  you've  gone  and  done  it!" 
cried  the  smallest  boy,  "  You've  given  your  gun  to 
that  fellow  that  don't  know  how  to  shoot.  He's  shot 
that  man  and  they'll  hang  us  all —  " 

"  Shut  up !  "  said  Roger.  The  sweat  ran  from  his 
forehead.  "  Can't  anybody  put  it  on  us  if  you  don't 
peach !  " 

"  Us !    I  didn't  do  it !  "  sobbed  little  Jeff  Parmelee. 

"  We  were  all  together !  " 

"  If  I'd  done  it,  I'd  say  so;  but  I  didn't,  I  didn't,  I 
didn't!" 

"If  you  tell  who  did  it,  you'll  get  Hi-Timmy  hung, 
then  you'll  be  a  murderer,  sure  enough.  They  may 


The  House  of  Landell  423 

nab  us  and  string  us  to  a  telegraph  pole.  Jeff  Parme- 
lee,  you'd  better  scoot!  "  and  fully  as  frightened  as  if 
the  weapon  had  been  in  his  own  hands,  Roger  Trow- 
bridge  snatched  his  gun  from  Hi-Timmy's  unresisting 
hands  and  ran  home.  He  crept  up  the  back  stairs  and 
into  bed,  where  he  crouched,  under  cover,  listening  with 
growing  horror  for  the  expected  mob  to  burst  into  the 
room  and  drag  him  to  the  nearest  tree — as  the  papers 
said  it  was  the  custom  of  mobs  to  do. 

Jeff  Parmelee,  being  only  ten  years  old,  had  fled  to 
his  mother  and  was  sobbing  out  the  whole  terrible 
story  on  her  loving  breast. 

Thus  was  Hi-Timmy  left  alone.  He  had  joined  the 
boys,  incidentally,  on  his  way  to  take  a  tube  of  paint 
to  Amy  Burton.  He  had  earned  it  that  afternoon  by 
blacking  Mr.  Tom's  many  pairs  of  boots,  and  was 
taking  her  a  big  bag  of  chocolate  drops  into  the  bar 
gain.  Now  he  stood  appalled,  crushed  in  his  new 
found  lightness  of  heart.  For  an  instant,  the  desire  of 
the  wild  for  flight,  almost  overpowered  him  ;  then  there 
came  the  sweet  scent  of  hemlock  groves,  and  Mr.  Tom's 
kind  voice  as  it  had  said  to  him  long  ago,  "  Stand  still, 
Hi-Timmy,  there  is  a  teacher  inside  of  you,  that  will 
tell  you  what  to  do !  " 

Meanwhile,  the  car  was  in  an  uproar.  The  train  had 
been  stopped  and  a  physician  who  lived  near  by  sum 
moned.  He  hastened  to  the  injured  man  and  bent  over 
him  with  a  professional  solicitude  which  changed  into 
the  alarm  and  distress  of  a  friend,  as  he  saw  the  face. 

"  Dick  Brentford !  Old  fellow,  what  does  this 
mean !  " 

"  Halloo,  Bascombe !  "  Brentford  looked  up  through 
half-shut  lids  into  the  eyes  of  a  college  chum.  Then, 
in  his  usual  manner,  half  cynicism,  half  a  cry  of 
searching  unto  despair, 

"  I  shall  soon  know  whether  changed  processes  mean 


424  The  House  of  Landell 

disintegration  with  a  permanence  of  idea,  or  annihila 
tion —  "  he  sank  into  unconsciousness. 

"  This  is  a  quandary !  "  mused  Bascombe  aloud.  "  It 
is  death  to  move  him  far —  " 

"  Our  house  is  across  the  common.  I  know  my 
mother  would  say,  '  take  him  there.'  The  hospital  is 
too  many  miles  away,"  said  Philip. 

A  terrifying  thought  sped  to  his  mind  as  he  spoke. 
He  recalled  the  merry  little  boys  so  free  of  evil  intent 
— the  dare-devil  shooting — and  pictured  the  desolation 
of  remorse  for  some  heart-broken  lad. 

"  Yet,  where  shall  blame  be  placed !  "  he  sighed. 
"  When  human  life  is  held  so  lightly,  and  nations  call 
for  gold  and  blood,  teaching  and  compelling  men  to 
perpetuate  the  art  of  War." 

Mrs.  Herman  met  them  at  the  door.  A  pallor  over 
spread  her  face  as  she  saw  the  man  on  the  litter. 

"  Philip,  this  is  the  physician  who  first  attended  you 
at  Mt.  Nodel." 

His  attention  thus  attracted  to  the  past,  as  in  a 
nebula  Philip  saw  Dick  Brentford's  face  evolving  from 
his  mind,  creeping  slowly,  feature  by  feature  from  the 
recesses  of  a  consciousness  he  would  have  believed  too 
comatose  to  register  details,  but  not  now  received  with 
hatred  and  disgust  as  it  would  have  been  before  the 
moment  of  his  renunciation. 

"  I  knew  his  address  once,  but  it's  nickels  to  nuggets 
if  I  can  find  it,"  Dr.  Bascombe  was  saying.  "  It's  a 
fine  thing  if  a  man  can't  sit  peaceably  in  a  car  without 
being  blown  up  by  fire-eaters !  " 

"  Foreign  bomb  throwers  are  not  the  only  misdi 
rected  energy  abroad,"  returned  Philip  thoughtfully. 
"  Much  training  of  well-intentioned  human  material  is 
necessary  before  we  are  safe.  I  feel  sure  no  evil  in 
tent  is  back  of  this  accident.  While  you  are  attend- 


The  House  of  Landell  425 

ing  to  details  here,  I  will  follow  up  a  clue.  It  will 
not  take  me  long." 

In  a  few  minutes,  his  hand  upon  the  door-bell  sent  a 
peal  of  sound  into  the  ears  of  a  frightened  lad  hidden 
beneath  blankets.  Then  there  came  low  voices  at  the 
foot  of  the  stairs;  light  footsteps  not  at  all  like  those 
of  a  mob,  a  gentle  tap  to  which  he  gave  no  response, 
and  a  reassuring  call  at  the  door.  A  tall  figure  en 
tered  the  room,  went  to  the  bed,  threw  back  the  clothes, 
and  gathered  the  terrified  and  quivering  child  in  kindly 
arms. 

"  Tell  me  about  it,  Roger." 

"  It's  circumstantial  evidence,  for  it's  my  gun ;  but 
they  can't  hang  me  on  that,  can  they?  "  The  boy  clung 
convulsively  to  Herman,  who  returned  the  terrified 
grip  with  a  comforting  embrace. 

"  Why  circumstantial?    Did  you  fire  the  shot?  " 

"I'll  die  be  fore  I'll  tell!" 

That  was  all  Philip  could  win  from  the  frightened 
lad. 

"  I  won't  peach,"  he  whispered  to  his  pillow,  some 
what  soothed,  though  still  in  an  agony  of  terror,  after 
Philip  had  left  him  in  further  pursuit  of  the  truth. 

A  short  time  after  Dr.  Brentford  had  left  the  Lan- 
dells',  Tom  went  to  his  room.  As  he  entered,  he  saw 
what  seemed  a  wad  of  clothing  huddled  in  a  heap  upon 
the  floor.  It  was  long  since  Hi-Timmy  had  been  seen 
in  any  such  attitude  of  abasement  and  at  first  Tom 
was  nonplussed.  As  the  light  was  flashed  on,  the  heap 
moved  and  a  haggard  face  dissociated  itself  from  the 
mass.  Tom  watched  it  in  puzzled  silence,  until,  hav 
ing  reached  a  standing  position,  Hi-Timmy  spoke. 

"  Mr.  Tom,  you  know  everything.     What  is  life! ' 

"  Life  is  God  moving  in  us,  Timmy." 

"  I've  killed  it !    Tell  me  what  to  do !  " 

"  You  can't  kill  God.    However  it  may  seem  to  you. 


426  The  House  of  Landell 

Sometimes,  because  our  eyes  cannot  follow  the  changes 
we  say  life  has  been  killed,  or  that  it  is  dead;  but  that 
is  not  so.  Tell  me  what  troubles  you.  Slowly,  now, 
and  I'll  help  you." 

"  If  life  stays  in  that  man  can  he  die?  " 

"  What  man  ?  Tell  me  about  it,  Timmy  ?  Whom 
do  you  think  you  have  killed?  " 

"  Tell  God  that  man  is  alive !  "  shivered  Timmy  in 
a  frenzy.  "If  God  thinks  he's  alive  maybe  the  man 
will  think  so  too !  " 

There  came  a  tap  at  the  door.  Mr.  Herman  had 
come  direct  from  the  Trowbridges'  to  acquaint  the 
Landells  of  the  tragedy. 

Weeks  passed.  Every  day  Hi-Timmy  went  to  the 
Hermans',  and  stealing  into  Richard  Brentford's  cham 
ber,  stood  a  moment  with  transfigured  face,  then  softly 
stole  away. 

"  It's  life  there,  moving  in  him  because  You  are  in 
him,  God,"  he  said  over  and  over,  not  in  agony  of 
self-condemnation,  because  Tom  had  shown  him  that 
would  avail  nothing.  The  heroism  of  the  child's  soul 
showed  luminous  against  the  renunciation  of  himself 
and  any  possible  penalty  to  himself,  throughout  the 
whole  horrible  circumstance.  It  was  the  cry  of  his 
heart  that  life  should  be  given  to  the  one  against  whom, 
unwittingly,  his  hand  had  been  directed, — life  for  him, 
and  life  more  abundantly. 

No  one  but  Tom  knew  why  the  boy  went  daily  to 
the  chamber.  It  was  through  his  kindly  offices  that 
the  boy  went  and  came  unquestioned.  Day  by  day  his 
crude  features  became  refined,  the  windows  of  his  soul 
let  forth  the  light  that  had  always  been  within,  ready 
to  enkindle  and  illumine  the  manifestation.  The 
thought  was  thinking  through  the  expression,  and  a 
child  of  beautiful  experience  was  living  forth.  Study 
ing  the  sacredness  of  life  and  the  right  of  each  soul 


The  House  of  Landell  427 

to  hold  to  its  chosen  embodiment  till,  of  itself,  ready 
to  use  another,  he  invoked  life  in  the  best  form  for 
the  man  he  had  injured,  and,  in  so  doing,  found  it  more 
abundantly  for  himself. 

Meanwhile,  for  Dr.  Bascombe  had  not  put  Richard 
Brentford's  name  on  record,  the  invalid's  personal  rela 
tions  to  the  world  remained  hidden,  and  his  mentality 
only  now  and  then  peeped  sluggishly  in  and  out  of  its 
stupor. 

One  day,  after  another  fruitless  visit  to  Dr.  Bas- 
combe's  office,  and  a  thorough  search  through  the 
helter-skelter  mass  of  cards  the  kind-hearted  but  care 
less-habited  physician  threw  out  for  his  inspection, 
Philip  returned  home.  As  he  entered  the  sick  room,  the 
man  on  the  bed  turned  heavily  and  opened  unseeing 
eyes.  As  they  moved  vacantly  over  the  room  they 
drifted  to  Philip's  face.  A  dull  light  crept  into  them 
which  grew  in  intensity  until  they  fixed  themselves 
virulently  upon  him. 

"  Charity !  "  he  said  between  his  teeth.  "  There  is 
no  such  thing!  It  is  every  man  for  himself  and  anni 
hilation  for  us  all !  " 

Philip  stood  looking  down  at  the  man  who,  awak 
ened  to  the  present,  raised  himself  upon  his  elbow  and 
continued  in  tones  that  seethed  with  hatred, 

"  You  priestly  hypocrites !  Every  trick  you  teach, 
pretendedly  of  the  spirit,  is  wormed  out  of  your  desire 
for  personal  gain." 

Still  Philip  looked  at  him.  Not  his  thought,  but  his 
life  as  to  righteousness  called  to  the  embittered  man 
to  rise  from  his  slough  and  stand  upon  his  feet. 

"  I  saw  a  class  of  thirty  girls,  once,  with  downcast 
eyes  and  humility  according  to  book,  move  sinuously 
across  the  room,  skirts  floppy,  like  cassocks,  and  a  gas 
lighter  for  the  Host.  They  presented  the  processional 
to  perfection.  No  train  of  priests  could  equal  them 


428  The  House  of  Landell 

for  unctiousness.  They  looked,  every  one,  like  my 
uncle,  even  to  the  raising  of  their  eyes  to  a  heaven 
(that  is  not  there)  on  the  ictus  of  the  organ  stroke 
and  letting  them  tall  with  mock  humility  on  the  re 
currence  of  the  rhythm." 

Philip  listened  silently,  but  the  frenzied  man  went 
on, 

"  He  would  deceive  St.  Peter  by  his  studied  sanctity. 
He  has  another  specialty.  He  is  a  thief.  What  struck 
me?" 

"  A  ball  from  a  parlor  rifle  that  a  little  child  was 
playing  with." 

"  I  bear  him  only  one  grudge — that  he  didn't  com 
plete  his  work.  Send  for  my  uncle.  He  is  a  scoun 
drel  and  I  want  to  tell  him  so !  " 

The  moment  of  superficial  strength  had  passed.  The 
glaze  of  unconsciousness  stole  over  his  eyes,  his  head 
sank  to  the  pillow,  and  he  lay  silent;  but  where  to  find 
the  uncle,  no  one  knew. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

"  We  can  only  obey  our  own  polarity." 

Emerson. 

THE  horror  of  the  Landells  at  the  accident  to  their 
dinner  guest  and  the  mystery  surrounding  his  family 
connections,  as  well  as  their  sympathy  for  the  Hermans 
and  their  liking  for  the  sufferer  caused  them  to  keep 
closely  in  touch  with  conditions  at  the  parsonage. 

Meanwhile,  Agnes'  love  for  Mevin  had  become  a 
rare  sweet  song  singing  into  her  life.  Although  she 
did  not  see  him  and  found  within  herself  an  almost 
unsurmountable  barrier  to  forcing  or  even  planning  a 
meeting  with  him  she  so  often  had  rebuffed,  still,  she 
found  comradeship  in  knowing  of  his  plans,  and,  in 
spirit  with  him,  living  toward  their  fruition.  In  this 
love,  growing  in  the  spirit  as  rarely  as  the  love  of  God 
grows  in  the  heart,  she  found  herself  living  more 
largely  and  more  comprehendingly.  Where  she  had 
seen  darkness,  he  was  bringing  her  light ;  where  she  had 
felt  killing  frosts,  there  was  blooming  through  his  love 
the  glory  of  tropic  warmth ;  when  she  looked  out  to  his 
soul,  she  found  his  looking  into  hers. 

Coming  in  one  day  from  a  walk,  filled  with  vitality 
and  peace,  she  met  Mattee  Sue. 

"Have  you  heard  from  Dr.  Brentford  to-day?" 
asked  the  little  sister. 

"  I  have  not.  Do  you  never  forget  any  one,  dear 
Little  Sister  ?  You  carry  humanity  on  your  bosom  as 
a  wood-nymph  bears  a  daffodil  upon  her  breast,  laugh 
ing  as  you  go,  and  with  an  exquisite  simplicity  that 

429 


430  The  House  of  Landell 

makes  it  seem  as  if  you  were  but  blowing  the  fluff  from 
the  dandelion  instead  of  lifting  burdens.  Ah,  Little 
Sister,  indeed 

'  The  great  things  are  so  simple 
The  simple  are  so  great ! ' 

and  the  beauty  of  it  is,  with  you  there  are  no  depres 
sions  in  between, — 

"Oh,  that's  because  I'm  too  shallow  for  life  to  dig 
any  into  me." 

"  What  is  the  secret,  is  it  just  temperament,  or, —  " 
Agnes  continued. 

"  W'y,  I  just  have  faith !  "  The  natural  buoyancy 
of  the  girlish  figure  became  vitalized  with  a  strength 
that  was  splendid.  "  And  if  I  ever  get  to  a  place  w'en 
I  don't  know  w'at  to  have  faith  in  and  can't  seem  to 
get  to  God,  I  just  have  faith  in  faith!  I  hear  Dr. 
Brentford  is  worse.  If  you  go  there  to  inquire  soon, 
I'd  be  so  very  much  obliged  if  you  will  take  my  stylo- 
graphic  pens  to  the  village  to  be  mended.  They  are 
out  of  fix,  every  one." 

"  Out  of  fix.  Red-bird,"  laughed  Tom,  entering  the 
room  as  his  wife  was  speaking,  "  Out  of  fix!  " 

"  W-oh-we-y,  I  should  feel  fearfully  lonesome  in  this 
land  of  jewelled  expression  if  I  couldn't  cuddle  down 
into  the  cradle  of  some  of  Maum  Kenny's  homely  say 
ings,"  her  laughter  bubbling  bravely  through  a  wave  of 
home-sickness  in  the  midst  of  the  never- failing  stateli- 
ness  which  surrounded  her. 

"  I  simply  couldn't  stand  it,"  she  whispered  to  her 
self,  sometimes,  "  if  they  didn't  show  in  everything 
they  do  that  they  love  me !  " 

"  Say  it  all  you  please,  Red-bird,"  said  Mr.  Landell, 
lovingly.  "  It's  a  mighty  poor  cultivation  that  makes 
perfection  a  bugbear." 


The  House  of  Landell 


431 


Mattee  Sue  jumped  from  her  seat  at  table  and,  run 
ning  round  to  Mr.  Landell's  place,  snuggled  her  face 
into  his  beautiful  white  hair,  as  she  so  often  loved 
to  do. 

"  Oh,  crown  of  glory,"  she  whispered  lovingly. 
"  Not  only  your  wonderful  hair,  father,  but  you! 
Yes,"  she  continued,  flitting  back  to  her  seat,  "  I've 
gummed  up  every  one  of  those  convenient,  obstinate 
pens  and  had  to  use  a  paint  brush  you  left  in  my  room, 
Agnes,  w'en  you  were  working  on  those  gold  letters,— 
to  write  to  mauma  with.  I  took  your  gold  stuff  and 
painted  '  I  love  you.  Pens  all  broken  but  I'm  safe! ' 
on  a  sheet  of  paper  and  sent  it.  She  will  be  frightened 
into  motion-picture  jiggles  if  she  doesn't  hear  from  me 
every  day." 

"  Such  a  message  seems  far  from  reassuring," 
laughed  Mrs.  Landell,  "  '  I'm  safe! '  Has  there  been 
any  danger !  " 

"  And  then  telegrams  and  letters  full  of  impudence, 
eh,  you  little  bundle  of  wickedness,"  interpolated  Tom. 
"  Mattee  Sue,  that  letter  you  sent  me  is  the  very  worst 
I  ever  received !  " 

"  I  meant  it  to  be!  "  roguishly,  "  and  w'enever  you 
put  X-rays  on  my  proceedings  you  may  expect  its 
brothers  and  sisters  to  follow  suit!  " 

Tom  leaned  back  in  his  chair  despairingly. 

"  The  king  of  beasts  is  no  longer  monarch  in  his 
lair,"  laughed  Mr.  Landell,  enjoying  the  repartee,  "  Lie 
down,  laddie !  " 

"Not  I,  father!"  A  bit  of  choler  showed  itself 
through  Tom's  banter. 

"  No,  you  precious!  "     Prettily,  Mattee  Sue  tipped 
her  fingers  to  her  lips  and  whiffed  him  a  kiss  across 
the  table.     "  Father  Landell,   I  shall  emulate   \\  'at 
have  seen  of  this  ideal  home,  and  cooperate,  father,  co 
operate  !  " 


432  The  House  of  Landell 

"  It's  a  fearfully  bad  precedent, — leading  your  par 
ents  to  expect  to  hear  from  you  every  day,"  said  Tom, 
recovering  himself.  "  Now,  if  they  do  not  hear,  they 
will  worry.  Make  it  uncertain  from  the  first,  and 
pretty  soon,  they  won't  mind." 

"  I  shall  not  adopt  that  plan  with  them,  as  I  have  be 
gun  the  other  way."  Mattee  Sue  was  indefatigable  in 
finding  new  material.  "  But  dear,  I  certainly  will  re 
call  your  advice  w'en  away  from  you!  " 

"  You  are  the  wickedest  little  witch  I  ever  knew," 
sighed  Tom.  "  It  won't  do  to  give  up,  for  then,  surely, 
I  should  be  the  dancing  bear  led  round  by  the  nose; 
but  it  takes  a  lot  of  will-power  not  to  capitulate — a 
lot  of  it!  Your  people  don't  write  to  you  every  day, 
do  they!" 

"  W-oh-er-wy,  it  is  not  necessary,  because  they  know 
Sister  Agnes  has  a  telescopic  eye  and  can  see  w'at  they 
are  doing.  Tell  me,  Agnes,  w'y  you  haven't  been  see 
ing  spooks  and  intelligences  since  I  came.  You  are 
certainly  disappointing!  How  do  you  do  it,  anyway! 
I  think  it  is  perfectly  wonderful,  don't  you,  father !  " 
Then,  insistently,  "  How  do  you  do  it,  sister ! " 

"  I  wish  I  understood ;  then  I  should  never  fail." 

"  Won't  you  explain  it,  father  ?  You  are  so  very 
wise,  I'm  sure  you  know !  " 

"  It  is  for  the  same  reason  that  we  do  not  always 
obtain  messages  over  wireless,  Red-bird.  Both  the 
sending  and  receiving  stations  must  be  in  attune,  with 
no  cross  currents  to  interrupt.  None  can  hear  who  are 
not  attuned.  It  is  very  simple,  the  real  unfoldment, 
the  other  development  is  full  of  doubts  and  quagmires. 
It  tends  to  arrest  spiritual  inspiration;  the  real  holds 
the  organism  responsive  to  what  is  permanent,  within. 
All  things  tend  for  good  when  directed  by  the  spirit  of 
goodness;  but  strength,  power  and  ability  are  imper 
sonal  and,  until  they  have  a  divine  motive  behind  them, 


The  House  of  Landell  433 

they  are  destructive.  In  patience  one  by  one  the  indi 
vidual  gathers  up  the  lines  of  power  until  he  holds 
them  firmly  in  his  possession." 

"  Father,"  said  Tom,  "  do  you  not  think  that  clair- 
audience  and  clairvoyance  are  the  heritage  of  the  hu 
man  family  which  in  time  all  will  utilize?" 

"  I  do.  Where  we  place  those  whose  vocabularies 
are  insufficient  for  their  needs,  we  may  place  the 
psychic  who  cannot  demonstrate  sequentially.  I  use 
the  word  psychic,  not  in  the  sense  of  spiritual,  but  as 
on  the  plane  of  phenomena  and  one  of  the  phases  of 
material  demonstration.  It  is  a  disintegrating  phase, 
for  though  it  seems  to  extend  to  the  circumference  it 
disturbs  the  centre,  holding  to  which,  an  infinitely  large 
circumference  is  possible." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?  "  questioned  Mattee 
Sue. 

"  A  psychic — or  one  who  depends  on  psychic 
methods  for  unfoldment, — constantly  extends  eyes  and 
ears  of  mind  toward  influences  other  than  the  Source. 
During  this  process  will  and  reason  lie  inert.  The  sub 
ject — for  soon  he  is  rightly  called  this — becomes  ex 
posed  to  external  forces  of  all  sorts  without  the  in 
telligence  being  awake  to  its  power  and  right  of  selec 
tion.  Fortunate  for  him,  if  his  inherent  sense  of  choice 
protects  him  from  unspeakable  horrors!  It  is  like 
opening  your  jewel  casket  on  the  highway,  little  Red- 
bird,  and  going  away,  leaving  it  to  be  seized  upon  by 
any  one  who  passes  by." 

"What  is  that  centre,  father?" 

"  The  same  Mind  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord." 

"  How  can  we  find  that  Centre?  " 

"  Spiritual  power  does  not  force  its  way.  It  is  to 
be  discerned  only  through  active  desire  and  aspiration 
thereof.  It  retires  before  listenings  and  visionings 
gained  through  controls  or  possessions  or  obsessions. 


434  The  House  of  Landell 

At  no  time  is  the  dependent  psychic  unfoldment  an  un 
failingly  reliable  source  of  wisdom." 

"  Many  consider  that  the  psychic  state  is  due  to 
brain  discoordination  caused  by  unequal  motion  of  cell 
tissues,"  said  Tom. 

"  Our  expression  always  manifests  energy  unequally. 
To  my  understanding,  this  explains  why  the  body  is 
left  behind  in  so-called  death.  We  are  not  consistently 
conscious  throughout  our  beings.  That  is,  we  have  not 
attained  to  complete  consciousness,  which  is  the 

'  Far-off  divine  event, 
Towards   which   the   whole   creation   moves.' " 

"  I  have  noted,"  said  Agnes,  "  that  generally  when 
I  have  visions — not  of  soul  which  strengthen — but 
psychic  flashes — I  am  depleted." 

"  You  become  a  medium  and  the  manifestation  uses 
your  forces.  The  crossing  of  telephone  wires  is  a  trite 
but  good  illustration  of  the  way  these  forces,  undi 
rected  by  your  Self,  may  act,  even  to  the  defeat  of  pur 
pose.  Other  mentalities  or  messages  cutting  in ;  wires 
crossed;  getting  another  message — are  of  the  same 
import,  whether  in  telephonic  despatch  or  in  other  voic- 
ings  of  Wisdom.  When,  depleted,  you  vision,  your 
will-forcing  methods  are  not  aligned  with  universal 
intelligence  and  you  are  negatively  receptive  to  all 
kinds  of  inundations  from  persons,  conditions  and  in 
visibles,  bad  and  good.  When,  in  health  and  wisdom, 
you  see  and  know — and  I  assure  you,  physical  health  is 
but  one  expression  thereof — it  is  because,  as  an  adept, 
you  are  aligned  with,  and  intelligently  receptive  to, 
messages  of  real  spiritual  power.  Revelations  from 
this  source  are  always  reliable  because  an  extension,  in 
sequence,  of  the  reason  we  glorify.  The  scroll  of  the 
law  is  unrolled  into  realms  beyond  the  scope  of  the 
mentality.  The  former  condition  partakes,  in  no  sense, 


The  House  of  Landell 


435 


of  the  spiritual,  because  it  echoes  other  and  generally 
conflicting  mentalities ;  the  latter  is  the  natural  growth 
of  the  pure  in  heart,  who,  having  entered  the  kingdom 
of  righteousness,  become  as  a  little  child  and  see  God." 

"  I  have  tried  to  be  that,"  said  Agnes.  "  Why,  then, 
have  I  not  been  able  inherently  to  select  my  visions 
wiselier?  See  how  often  I  catered  to  Cousin  Matilda's 
whims,  and  how  nearly  I  failed  Tom !  "  She  turned 
white.  "  Oh,  that  night !  "  she  shuddered.  "  When 
there  came  the  call  of  something  undefinable,  as  to  un 
derstanding,  but  reassuring,  as  to  experience;  when 
something  in  my  mind  seemed  to  link  hand  with  reason, 
as  it  were  an  elder  sister,  and  draw  it  up  into  knowl 
edge  of  its  higher  possibilities.  I  analyzed  nothing, 
then.  I  resisted  till  I  acted.  Now,  as  I  regard  the  ex 
perience  in  the  light  of  its  fulfilment,  I  know  I  was 
like  one  on  a  mountain,  motionless  before  vistas  never 
to  be  seen  from  valleys  or  plateaus  below.  The  still 
ness  of  great  heights  enclosed  me,  as,  having  climbed 
out  of  the  pitch  and  tar  of  indecision,  I  penetrated 
spaces  beyond  the  closed  doors  where  that  figure  lay, 
far  beyond  it,  to  the  starting  point  of  that  journey  of 
thought  that  was  striving  to  express  itself  to  me — a 
potent  petition  in  a  sea  of  flame !  " 

She  trembled  and  ceased  speaking,  then  began  again. 

"Oh,  the  fallacy  of  my  reasoning,— that  the  light 
had  to  have  a  cause ;  therefore,  as  I  saw  no  cause,  there 
could  be  no  light !  " 

"  I  was  at  fault,  Agnes !  "  Tom's  face  grew  white, 
too.  "  I  begged  you  to  be  guided  only  by  reason- 
good  advice  had  it  not  disdained  your  transcendent 
powers— because,  I  could  not,  myself,  follow  them 
from  premise  to  conclusion.  I  was  following  law ;  but 
to  me,  the  law  stopped  at  the  point  I  did.  I  scorned  the 
aid  of  the  soul's  imagery— living  instrument  of  truth. 
I  needed  teaching,  and  I  chose  to  receive  my  lesson  as 


436  The  House  of  Landell 

it  was  sent  to  me !  I  had  time  to  think,  that  night,  and 
I  thought  as  never  before. — Go  on,  father,  answer 
Agnes  in  your  own  way." 

"  You  have  been  very  zealous,"  Mr.  Landell  turned 
to  Agnes,  "  and  perhaps  not  always  patient  with  pro 
cesses.  Through  your  emotional  intensity,  and  latterly 
through  your  emotional  repression,  you  have  been 
drawn  insidiously  into  listening  for  direction — for 
leadings.  Sometimes,  only  sometimes,  dearest,  you 
have  allowed  your  intelligence  to  drowse.  Thus  you 
have  become  sensitive  to  all  that  impinges  from  with 
out — the  undesirable  as  well  as  the  desirable.  You 
have  realized  this,  and  in  fierce  desire  to  hold  yourself 
positive,  you  have  held  your  mentality  before  your 
vision  and  mirrored  that  instead  of  the  Infinite.  Thus 
has  your  mentality  confused  and  blurred  the  image  the 
soul  presents." 

"  Indeed,  we  are  pattern-makers  in  the  stillness  and 
the  invisible,  of  what  we  represent  in  the  temporal! 
Give  me  more  reasons,  as  to  why  I  am  sometimes  right 
and  sometimes  wrong." 

"  The  reason,  sweet  puzzler,  is  that  your  loving  ser 
vice  has  been  the  cause  of  your  close  touch  with  the 
unseen ;  but  indiscriminate  service  has  opened  the  door 
for  indiscriminate  obsessions." 

"  What  are  spirits,  Father  Landell  ?  " 

"'  After  much  thought  and  experience,  I  have  come 
to  feel — and  it  gives  me  great  peace — that  they,  as 
well  as  ourselves,  are  the  power  of  God,  in  form. 
When,  what  we  call  the  physical  body,  disappears, 
through  death,  the  line  of  action  of  the  soul  is  not 
necessarily  changed.  It  works  on  its  chosen  lines  and 
uncoils  a  new  embodiment,  born  of  its  active  desires. 
It  may  hold  the  individuality  as  long  as  it  chooses,  and 
work  where  it  chooses.  If  individuality  no  longer 
seems  vital,  the  soul  may  return  to  the  bosom  of  the 


The  House  of  Landell  437 

Great  Infinite.  It  is  comparatively  easy  for  some  re 
ceptive  organisms,  here,  to  follow  this  uncoiling  to 
the  extent  of  seeing  souls,  that,  though  passed  out 
of  this  body,  still  are  physically  bound.  It  takes  the 
pure  living  of  the  life  to  enable  one,  still  in  the  mate 
rial  body,  to  reach  beyond  the  material  and  psychic 
stages  of  consciousness,  to  meet  those  who  have  passed 
these  stages  and  find  it  difficult  to  return  to  the  slow, 
heavily  vibrating  denseness  of  the  physical  atmos 
phere,  which  is  a  part  of  the  physical  coil  of  the  un 
folding  idea.  Still,  impressions  and  messages  con 
stantly  make  their  way  to  us  from  them,  and  some 
times,  a  vision  of  the  soul." 

"  How  have  I  been  so  mercifully  protected  from 
many  of  the  worst  phases  of  subjectives?"  put  in 
Agnes. 

The  never-failing  current  of  your  thought  and  will 
has  been,  God — even  though  unknown  and  not  under 
stood, — still,  God.  Your  unconscious  selection  fol 
lows  the  trend  of  your  conscious  training.  Our  lives 
are  moulded  thoughts.  Indecision,  doubt,  restlessness, 
questioning  of  methods  after  well-considered  choice  has 
been  made — lead  to  valleys  of  vision,  instead  of  to 
mountain  tops." 

"  How  may  I  assure  myself  of  the  wisdom  of  the 
mountain  tops  ?  " 

"  '  Live  so  absolutely  in  the  present  that  your  under 
standing  of  the  present  is  absolutely  perfect,'  "  he 
quoted. 

"  W'y,  Father  Landell,  mustn't  one  think  of 
heaven !  "  burst  forth  Mattee  Sue,  astounded. 

"  This  is  the  age  of  the  individual.  His  ideal  state 
is  to  be  clean,  alert,  sensitive  and  keen  of  vision  in  the 
unseen  realms  of  his  nature,  that  he  may  know  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  that  is  within." 


438  The  House  of  Landell 

"  How  does  Agnes  get  views  of  distant  places  and 
people  ?  " 

"  Messages  are  transmitted  through  the  nerves.  The 
highest  phenomenal  manifestation  of  which  we  are  in 
formed,  is  light;  but  there  is  a  morally  spiritual  radia 
tion,  '  too  fine  in  nature,  and  too  intimate  in  action, 
for  the  power  of  any  nerve  fibre  to  transmit.'  It  acts 
far  above  any  phenomena  of  light  and  its  centre  is 
Wisdom  which  is  '  more  moving  than  any  motion.' 
In  that  Light,  behind  the  light,  is  the  power  of  energy. 
Behind  that— God!" 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

"  Thou  must  build  upward  to  a  height  beyond 
thyself.  But  first,  I  would  have  thee,  thyself, 
build  with  a  square  foundation,  body  and  soul." 

Nietzche. 

SOON  after  luncheon,  Agnes  took  Mattee  Sue's  stylo- 
graphic  pens,  together  with  her  own,  and  started  for 
the  village.  Her  heart  was  singing  with  the  joy  of  her 
father's  understanding. 

Before  going  to  Mr.  Dennett's,  she  stopped  at  the 
Hermans'.  Philip  was  in  the  garden  mulching  bulbs, 
as  indications  pointed  to  a  cold  spell. 

"  I  can  thank  you,  to-day,  for  what  you  have  done 
for  me,  Miss  Landell,"  he  said,  advancing  to  greet  her. 
"  Though  the  elements  within  struggled  mightily  with 
me,  in  attaining  to  the  liberty  of  God,  I  am  achiev 
ing." 

"  I  am  glad." 

Agnes  spoke  from  out  of  the  depths  of  her  soul's 
tranquillity.  The  garden  grew  gradually  very  still.  In 
the  silence,  spiritual  enlightenment  grew.  The  cross 
that  had  hung  in  every  vision,  with  herself  thereon, 
faded  before  her  entrance  into  the  kingdom  opening. 

In  a  moment,  Philip,  still  in  the  light  of  his  trans 
figuration,  replied, 

"  It  is,  after  all,  so  very  simple !  It  is  but  to  become 
as  a  little  child !  " 

"That  is  all,"  said  Agnes,  softly,  with  the  child 
face  of  Jesus  before  her,  "  As  a  little  child." 

439 


440  The  House  of  Landell 

There  was  a  silence  fraught  with  benediction  for 
them  both. 

"  Do  you  recall  the  day  you  said  to  me  '  The  church 
has  contained  the  nucleus  of  truth  these  thousands  of 
years.  It  has  enfolded  the  uses  of  creative  power  in 
the  most  sacred  manner  known  to  the  growing  under 
standing  of  its  priests  and  priestesses.'  I  could  not  be 
lieve  it  then.  I  know  it  now.  I  realize  that  just  to 
meet  together,  in  the  name  of  God,  is  to  hold  the  world 
to  that  ideal." 

"  Even  among  those  groups  where  form  and  cere 
monial  have  been  most  observed,  in  all  the  centuries  of 
organized  worship,  the  seeds  of  truth  have  been  held, 
protected,  nurtured,  and  sometimes  revealed ;  light  fall 
ing  on  it,  Holy  Spirit  of  Life  brooding  over  it.  Every 
century  of  this  meeting  together  in  search  of  life  more 
abundant  and  the  best  methods  of  finding  and  express 
ing  it,  has,  though  often  making  use  of  sense  methods, 
tended,  through  the  dynamic  power  of  the  Ideal,  to 
counter-impress  the  impressions  made  by  sense  ideals." 

No  weird  or  excessive  enthusiasm  colored  her  ex 
pression  as  she  spoke,  but  the  simple  statement  was 
vitalized  with  the  strength  that  true  impersonalism 
gives  when  he  who  loseth  his  life  finds  it  in  increasing 
beauty  and  glory. 

"  All  this  time,  the  same  methods  have  prevailed — 
meditating  in  one  place  at  specified  seasons,  for  a 
length  of  time,  with  the  mind  dwelling — at  least  sup 
posedly — on  the  coming  of  the  Lord,  in  whatever 
form  seemed  in  the  hearts  of  the  petitioners,  best  suited 
to  the  needs  of  the  world,  and  actively  thoughtful  and 
intent  on  finding  a  working  basis  for  the  revelation, 
specified  to  meet  the  growth  of  each  communion,  and 
to  evolve  a  finer  conception  of  what  Lord,  means." 

"  So  we  all  work  together,  we  who  are  directly  on 
the  highest  conceivable  plane  denying  passing  phases, 


The  House  of  Landell  441 

and  we  who,  like  Dr.  Wehr,  see  that  processes  of 
growth  are  the  strait  path  to  heaven." 

"  When  assent  and  dissent  are  silenced  in  us,  per 
ception  awakes;  spiritual  truths  are  cognized  and  ex 
pressed  with  spiritual  intent,"  returned  Philip.  "  The 
foundations  of  the  church  are  not  rotten,  as  has  been 
said.  They  are  eternal  verities  reaching  toward  the 
light."  He  paused  a  moment,  thoughtfully.  "  Will 
you  go  in  to  see  my  mother?  " 

"  I  thank  you,  not  to-day.  I  came  to  inquire  about 
Dr.  Brentford." 

"  There  seems  little  change.  I  wish  we  had  a  clue 
to  his  people." 

The  light  of  seership  illumined  Agnes'  face. 

"  We  shall  know  soon,  I  am  sure." 

"  Heigh-o !  "  called  a  woman's  voice.  Looking  up, 
Agnes  saw  Grace  Jenkins  hastening  down  the  street, 
waving  her  hand  vigorously. 

"  Let's  go  on  together,"  she  called  loudly  as  she  ap 
proached. 

Agnes'  heart  gave  a  sickening  thud  as  she  said  to 
herself,  "  I  can't  talk  with  her,  she  is  so  inconsequen 
tial!" 

"  Have  you  been  here  all  season?  "  asked  Grace,  ef 
fusively. 

"  Right  here,"  returned  Agnes. 

"  How  can  you  stick  to  one  spot,  so !  You  are  posi 
tively  abnormal!  I  couldn't  do  it,  and,  as  for  being 
alone,  it  gives  me  fits !  I  was  quarantined  for  twelve 
hours,  once!  I  had  a  rash  and  the  doctor  couldn't 
name  it!  Such  an  indignity  to  put  on  me  when  it 
was  only  oatmeal.  Twelve  hours  alone!  Just  think 
of  it!" 

"  Isn't  dread  of  that  more  abnormal  than  wanting 
to  be  alone  with  God,  once  in  a  while? 

"Alone  with  God!     I'd  be  scared  to  death  if  I 


442  The  House  of  Landell 

thought  I  was  going  to  be  alone  with  Him!  It  does 
very  well  to  hear  about  it  in  the  pulpit,  but  the  real 
thing, — boo!  Where  are  you  going?" 

"  To  Mr.  Dennett's,"  said  Agnes,  patiently. — "  To 
get  some  pens  mended." 

"  Are  all  those  yours  ?  You  always  were  a  lavish 
creature !  What  were  you  doing  at  the  Hermans'  ? 
Going  to  marry  the  Greek  god?  " 

"  I  am  not!  "  There  was  a  wave  of  thankfulness  in 
her  heart  at  the  assurance  she  felt  in  her  reply. 

"You  ought  to.  You  saved  his  life!  You  ought 
to  give  him  yours,  now,  as  a  sort  of  return — the  way 
people  exchange  wedding  rings.  Besides,  the  whole 
country  expects  it!  You 'didn't  see  half  I  saw  in  the 
papers  about  that  affair — though  I  tried  to  keep  you 
up  with  it  all — about  your  saving  his  life  and  support 
ing  him,  and  getting  him  this  place  to  preach,  and 
running  a  new  religion,  so  as  to  give  him  prestige  in 
the  country  as  head  of  a  new  faith — such  a  lot  of  stuff! 
—it  was  rich! — and  all  the  headlines  making  him  the 
high-monkey-monk  and  you  the  Richelieu  or  the 
Disraeli — what's  the  name  of  the  play,  anyway! 
You've  simply  got  to  marry  him.  You  owe  it  to  your 
character.  Don't  you  care?  You  look  as  if  it  all 
had  nothing  to  do  with  you !  " 

"  I  suppose  it  really  hasn't,"  Agnes  had  a  sense  of 
apartness  from  the  situation,  which  interested  her,  now, 
merely  as  it  might  a  spectator.  As  never  before,  it 
seemed  as  if  things  were  being  done  for  her.  A  won 
derful  sense  of  protection  enfolded  her.  She  felt  as 
if  the  ingredients  she  had  provided  for  that  strange 
comestible  called  consequences  were  being  mixed  with 
ingredients  with  which  she  had  nothing  to  do;  that 
they  were  being  stirred  in  with  the  spices  and  sweets 
as  well  as  the  gluten  grown  in  the  experience  grounds 
of  other  lives,  mixed  by  the  implements  of  coordina- 


The  House  of  Landell  443 

tion  and  changed  by  the  heat  of  wisdom  into  some 
thing  far  other  than  the  crude  commodities  that  had 
been  present  in  the  stirring  bowl  of  life  at  the  begin 
ning.  She  had  her  part, — oh  yes;  but  it  was  only  a 
part.  The  responsibility  of  the  whole  world  was  not 
hers,  and  he/  moral  accountability  was  a  joyous  co 
operation,  not  an  individual  burden. 

She  thought  all  this,  while  Grace  was  babbling  on, 
puzzled  at  her  lack  of  success  in  teasing  Agnes,  for 
merly  so  easy  and  enjoyable  a  pastime. 

"  I  have  it !  "  she  was  saying,  "  You  are  going  to 
marry  Dicky  Brentford!  That  would  be  a  match — 
nice  and  peppery,  like  chutney! '' 

"  I  am  complimented  that  you  consider  me  capable 
of  interesting  so  many  men." 

"  Why  didn't  they  send  him  to  the  hospital !  It's 
so  old-fashioned,  nowadays,  to  load  oneself  with  other 
people's  miseries.  After  he  was  so  mean  at  Mount 
Model — I'd  see  him  in  a  moving-picture  reel,  first !  " 

"  The  hemorrhages  made  it  dangerous  to  move  him 
so  far, — and — they  have  loved  to  do  it — that  is  all  I 
can  say." 

"  Well,  to  go  back  to  you!  It's  no  use  to  think  you 
can  love  the  God  in  everybody.  You  can't  find  Him 
in  most  people.  You've  got  to  love  somebody  to  death, 
then  be  a  fool  and  throw  him  over  and  live  all  the 
rest  of  your  life  without  him,  and  make  believe  you 
are  thrillingly  happy,  the  way  I've  done,  to  know  what 
love  is — or  isn't,"  she  broke  off  suddenly.  "  A  fool 
can  give  advice  to  a  saint.  I  say — don't  be  a  fool  and 
bring  yourself  down  on  a  level  with  me  through  be 
lieving  that  love  and  thinking  about  love  are  the  same 
thing.  Love  isn't  a  patent  fixture  to  be  attached  to 
any  machine  at  pleasure.  Love  mates  you  with  a  man, 
not  an  idea!  My  notions  are  crude  enough,  perhaps. 
but  I  have  learned  what  I  am  talking  about.  Like  the 


444  The  House  of  Landell 

moaning  of  that  steamer's  whistle  the  day  I  stood  face 
to  face  with  death,  there  pulses  through  my  heart, 
Love,  thou  art  in  one  heart  for  me!  God  be  merci 
ful  to  me,  a  fool !  " 

She  stopped,  then  began  again, 

"  Faugh,  Agnes,  what  you  call  love  is  like  quack 
medicine — equally  unadapted  for  insanity  or  measles. 
I'm  in  the  fool  stage  and  don't  know  any  better  than 
to  take  my  medicine  in  whole  doses;  but  do  you  take 
your  own  prescription  and  save  yourself  torture. — 
Why  don't  Dickey's  people  take  him  off  the  Hermans' 
hands?" 

"  No  one  seems  to  know  anything  about  them — 
but  we  shall  find  them  soon." 

"  Are  you  as  queer  as  ever  ?  I  believe  you  have 
wheels  in  your  head." 

"  I  notice  they  keep  going." 

"  Good,  you're  improving.  It's  lots  more  interesting 
to  be  scrappy  once  in  a  while.  What  do  you  suppose 
makes  Dicky  so  disagreeable  ?  " 

"  I  think  he  is  soul  sick !  You  know  he  has  thought 
a  good  deal, —  " 

"  I  don't  see  a  bit  of  sense  in  it.  Why  can't  people 
content  themselves  thinking  like  everybody  else !  " 

Agnes  opened  her  lips  to  reply;  but  closed  them 
without  speaking.  Finally,  "  He  has  known  so  much 
of  the  material  side  of  religion — 

"  What  other  kind  is  there,  pray !  How  you  do 
make  people  sprain  their  brains  to  keep  up  with  you !  " 

"  Perhaps  you  know  something  about  Dr.  Brent 
ford's  family?  You  saw  a  good  deal  of  him  at  the 
hotel?" 

"  La !  I  did  ask  about  his  people,  once,  and  I  did 
step  into  a  hornet's  nest.  The  experiences  were  simi 
lar!  What  are  you  doing  inside  yourself!  You  will 
be  as  nice  and  chatty  as  possible,  then,  suddenly,  you 


The  House  of  Landell  445 

slam  the  door  of  your  mind  and  leave  those  on  the 
outside  to  make  the  best  of  it! — Come,  stay  with  me 
at  the  hotel,  to-night!  "  she  interrupted  herself.  "  It's 
dreadfully  creepy !  I  can't  go  home  with  you,  because 
Jack  is  here,  he  is  apt  to  be  ill — rheumatism — I 
wouldn't  want  to  take  him  to  your  house.  Besides, 
he's  here  on  business  that  may  keep  him  out  late — do 
come ! " 

A  tremor  crept  into  her  voice. 

"  I  shan't  let  him  know  you  are  there,  but  I  shall 
know  it — and — well,  it  will  help  me!  There  is  Jack, 
now!  Heigh-o,  Jack,  take  me  home.  I  don't  feel 
like  walking.  Don't  mention  Dick  Brentford  before 
him,"  she  whispered  hurriedly.  "  He  has  never  seen 
him,  but  for  some  reason  it  puts  him  in  a  perfect  fury 
even  to  hear  his  name." 

Jack  Jenkins  drove  to  the  curbstone.  He  was  years 
older  than  Grace.  As  Agnes  met  his  eye,  she  ignored 
Grace's  warning,  and  with  an  impulse  she  did  not  try 
to  control  said,  directly, 

"  Mr.  Jenkins,  I  want  the  address  of  Richard  Brent 
ford's  people." 

Jenkins  turned  ghastly.    He  eyed  her  piercingly. 

"  You  must  go  elsewhere  for  information,  Miss 
Landell.  It  seems  inhospitable  to  leave  you  here  on 
the  curbstone,  but  the  trap  has  seats  for  two  only." 

"  I  came  out  for  the  walk,"  returned  Agnes,  grate 
ful  that  she  was  to  be  left  alone  and  happy  in  the  sense 
of  tranquillity  that,  instead  of  perturbation,  was  en 
folding  her. 

"  '  The  sons  of  God  are  greater  than  their  business, 
for  He  hath  not  put  us  in  the  world  so  much  to  do  a 
certain  work  as  to  be  a  certain  thing,'  "  she  thought 
as  she  went  her  way.  "  Intuition  should  no  more  be 
shaken  in  its  balance  than  should  reason." 

Soon  after  dinner,  as  Grace  had  requested,  she  went 


446  The  House  of  Landell 

to  the  hotel.  She  was  singing  to  herself  something 
Mrs.  Bryce  had  said  to  her — "  You  seem  to  be  with 
us,  nowadays."  Had  she  not  always  been  with  them 
or  had  she  been  far  away  in  the  forest  of  the  abstract, 
hiding  from  them  all  in  doubt  and  distrust  of  herself? 

She  bowed  her  head  to  inhale  the  perfume  of  some 
roses  Marian  Fosby  had  sent  her  with  these  words : 

"  I  am  sending  you  these  roses  and  you  are  wonder 
ing  why.  It  is  because  I  feel  you  should  be  compen 
sated  ;  for  wherever  I  see  you,  spring,  summer,  autumn 
or  winter,  there  is  a  shower  of  apple  blossoms." 

This  thought  gave  her  strength  as  she  urged  her 
self  to  be  with  Grace,  and  turned  her  attention  from 
the  fact  that  the  wind  was  rising  almost  to  a  hurricane. 
Snugly  protected  in  the  cozy  limousine,  with  windows 
closed,  she  did  not  notice,  other  than  with  a  sense 
of  protection  the  soughing  of  the  pines  always  gave 
her,  that  they  were  almost  screaming  into  the  night, 
in  their  own  rare  language,  warnings  and  petitionings 
alike.  The  darkness  of  the  hotel  oppressed  her,  but 
bravely,  for  Grace's  sake,  she  put  all  sense  of  gloom 
aside,  though  she  could  but  notice  how  very  different 
its  appearance  from  that  of  summer  when  the  lake 
dimpled  and  danced  in  the  sunshine.  Excepting  the 
L,  all  was  dark.  Beneby  was  a  residential  town,  and, 
from  October  to  May,  rarely  were  there  transient  hotel 
visitors. 

As  she  entered  the  room  assigned  her,  next  the  one 
occupied  by  Grace,  her  gown  seemed  twitched  by  un 
seen  hands  and  faint  chucklings  followed  her  startled 
gaze  at  the  moving  fabric.  Could  she  remain  here,  to 
night,  friendship  or  no  friendship ! 

She  swept  the  impression  aside,  not  with  hands  of 
flesh,  for  these  could  not  avail,  but  with  the  power  of 
the  divine  knowledge  that  sang,  within  her,  God1,  Thou 
art  the  only  power,  and  dost  manifest  only  in  good. 


The  House  of  Landell  447 

The  air  was  close  and  she  opened  a  window.  The 
moaning  of  the  trees  sent  terror  through  her  by  their 
almost  human  cries.  She  was  about  to  close  it  when, 
from  out  the  tumult  of  sounds  rang  forth,  in  the  har 
monies  of  the  universe, 

"  He  bringeth  the  wind  out  of  His  treasuries." 

She  found  herself  glorying  in  its  power,  as  Grace 
entered  the  room  hastily. 

"  Oh,  dearie,"  and  she  busied  herself  in  shaking  out 
the  furs  Agnes  had  removed,  "  isn't  this  the  dreariest 
place!  Look  at  this  old  carpet  and  that  washstand— 
and  see  that  oil  cloth  tacked  before  it,  and  that  dread 
ful  honeycomb  spread !  There  isn't  a  soul  here,  except 
the  family  and  Jack, — what's  the  matter?—  for 
Agnes'  face  had  turned  crimson.  "  I  hope  you're  not 
falling  in  love  with  him.  You  were  embarrassed 
enough  when  you  met  him  this  afternoon!  " 

"  Grace,  don't  be  vulgar !  "  Agnes  exclaimed  impa 
tiently,  instantly  regretting  her  outburst;  but  Grace 
laughed  gleefully,  always  pleased  when  she  succeeded 
in  ruffling  her  friend's  calm. 

"  There  is  a  terrible  storm  coming  up,"  Agnes  con 
tinued,  as  a  gust  of  wind  sent  one  or  two  unfastened 
blinds  banging  to  and  fro.  For  the  first  time  becom 
ing  conscious  of  the  ferocity  of  the  storm,  she  opened 
a  window  on  the  north  side  to  close  the  shutters,  but 
the  gale  blew  in  sheets  of  rain,  drenching  her  out 
stretched  arm.  She  was  compelled  to  leave  it  noisily 
swinging,  with  rhythmic  insistence,  while  constantly 
increasing  blasts  dashed  the  sleet  against  the  glass. 
Suddenly,  she  raised  her  head  and  listened  attentively. 

"  What  is  that  dreadful  noise !  " 

Grace  sprang  up,  her  face  aflame. 

"  Jack  must  have  come  in  ill."  Running  into  her 
own  room  she  shut  the  door. 

Left  alone,  the  horrors  of  the  night  closed  in  upon 


448  The  House  of  Landell 

Agnes  with  renewed  intensity.  Scarcely  had  her 
friend  disappeared,  when  other  blinds  burst,  simul 
taneously,  from  their  fastenings,  slamming  against  the 
long  windows  in  a  large,  high-ceiled  bay  that  formed 
an  alcove  or  son-parlor.  The  impact  shivered  the  glass, 
while,  rain  and  wind  swept  the  room  in  gusty  fun,-. 
catching  the  unusuallv  long  white  curtains  and  over- 

o 

draperies,  whipping  them  out  their  entire  length. 
With  a  spring,  she  caught  them  as  they  were  about  to 
settle  upon  the  lighted  gas  jet,  that  without  a  globe, 
flared  and  flickered  on  the  side  wall.  Even  in  that 
second,  the  nraslin  had  caught  fire  and  the  wind  was 
u Minuting  with  her  to  sweep  it  again  upon  the  lighted 

jet- 

\\  ith  one  arm  she  held  the  mass  of  surging  material 
and,  quiddy  turning  off  the  gas,  beat  at  the  flames, 
that  had  crept  but  slowly  along  the  doth  on  account 
of  the  drenching  it  had  received  from  the  invading 
sleet  She  called  Grace.  The  noise  of  the  storm 
drowned  her  voice  or  Grace  was  too  much  occupied  to 
respond  She  had  lost  her  bearings  and  had  no  idea 
where  lay  the  door  through  which  Grace  had  made  her 
exit  She  did  not  continue  the  summons  for  she  did 
not  desire  the  presence  of  a  man  either  maudlin  or 
crazed  with  drink.  She  did  not  know  the  way  to  the 
caretakers'  apartment,  and  long  empty  spaces  extended 
between  her  and  aid 

She  did  not  know  where  to  find  the  bell,  or  if  the 
room  was  furnished  with  one,  and  she  had  heard 
enough  about  their  uselessness,  even  in  the  halycon 
days  of  summer,  to  cause  her  to  doubt  their  efficiency 
as  a  help-sunnnoDer,  on  this  tempestuous  winter  night, 
at  half  after  eleven  o'dock,  with  all  the  world  in  bed. 
She  had  no  matches,  and  meanwhile,  having  released 
the  curtains,  these  were  tossing  in  the  gale,  far  into  the 
spaces  of  the  dark  room,  stretching  out  their  lengths, 


The  House  of  Landell  449 

then  falling,  to  whip  out  again,  lashing  the  ceiling,  the 
high  walls,  dragging  down  with  a  startling  crash  some 
bric-a-brac  upon  the  mantel,  and  leaping  at  all  that 
came  within  their  reach  with  a  rolling,  wave-like 
motion  that,  to  her  strained  ears,  seemed  like  the  beat 
ing  of  surges  on  ocean  crags,  while  the  downpour  on 
the  tin  roof  of  the  tower  seemed  like  the  cannonading 
of  hostile  hosts.  The  storm  beat  into  the  chamber, 
and  the  wind  screamed,  like  a  living  thing,  among  the 
electric  wires  that  hung  low  outside. 

Trying,  in  vain,  to  maintain  a  hold  upon  the  cur 
tains,  three  times  she  felt  her  way  about  the  room  for 
matches.  On  the  washstand  was  a  match-safe,  but  it 
was  empty.  Still,  with  unabated  fury,  the  sleet  dashed 
to  the  furthest  corner  of  the  room.  At  length  her 
hand  touched  an  electric  bell :  but,  if  in  working  order, 
no  one  responded. 

Then  she  thought  of  dragging  the  desk  up  to  the 
broken  windows,  after  a  fashion  battening  down  the 
curtains  by  its  weight,  thereby  serving  as  a  shield 
against  the  elements.  The  piece  proved  sufficiently 
large  to  cover  the  worst  part  of  the  breakage,  for  it  was 
an  old-fashioned  bookcase  and  desk,  combined.  For 
tunately,  it  was  on  rollers.  To  gain  a  better  purchase 
upon  it,  she  withdrew  one  of  the  drawers  below  the 
pigeon-holes.  It  was  the  work  of  a  moment  to  dislodge 
it,  for  it  was  wedged  in  place  by  a  piece  of  paper. 

She  had  succeeded  in  wheeling  the  heavy  article 
across  the  room  and  was  about  to  push  it  into  its  new 
position,  when  a  sound  fell  on  her  ear  far  transcending 
all  the  horrors  of  that  awful  night  Footsteps  were 
stealthily  approaching  the  window,  whose  wrecked  con 
dition  made  it  useless  in  repelling  an  invasion.  In  a 
flash,  she  pictured  the  situation  of  the  L  where  she  was 
lodged.  There,  in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  was 
the&iron  fire-escape,  and  the  footsteps  were  coming 


450  The  House  of  Landell 

nearer.  She  stood  motionless,  the  envelope  she  had 
taken  from  the  drawer  held  between  her  hands,  which 
were  pressed  against  her  breast.  As  these  helpless 
hands  were  crossed  over  her  heart,  impotent  against  a 
rapidly  materializing  danger,  she  faced  the  window. 
The  long  curtains,  straightened  out  suddenly  by  the 
wind,  caught  and  enfolded  her.  Draped,  thus,  in  white, 
she  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  apartment. 

With  every  added  complication,  tranquillity  had  been 
gaining  a  steady  victory  over  terror  and  now  held  her 
balanced,  brave  and  serene,  though  surrounded  by  the 
turbulence  of  the  elements. 

Added  to  the  heightening  perils  of  the  night,  the 
groaning  of  the  wires  made  potent  appeal  to  the  imag 
ination.  An  arc-light  that  hung  outside,  beyond  the 
range  of  her  vision,  swung  forward,  and  for  an  in 
stant  its  rays  fell  full  upon  her,  shrouded  as  she  was, 
in  white.  Its  glare  threw  into  bold  relief  the  figure  of 
a  man  approaching  the  window.  With  wonder  that 
precluded  speech  or  outcry,  she  recognized  the  face  of 
Richard  Brentford,  who  was  at  death's  door  at  the 
Hermans'  more  than  a  mile  away.  It  was  framed,  for 
a  moment,  before  the  open  space,  then  a  scream  rent 
the  air,  as  the  lamp  swung  back  beyond  her  sight. 

"  What  is  it !  "  Grace  cried,  running  from  the  adjoin 
ing  room,  while,  with  sturdy  poundings  on  the  door, 
the  manager  and  his  wife  sought  entrance. 

"  What  made  you  shriek  so !  It  was  the  most  blood 
curdling  cry  I  ever  heard !  "  Grace  exclaimed,  as,  hav 
ing  disentangled  herself,  Agnes  admitted  the  manager 
and  his  wife. 

"  I  made  no  outcry,"  said  Agnes,  steadily. 

"  Yes,  you  did,  and  a  perfectly  awful  one." 

"  I  did  not  scream.    The  call  came  from  outside." 

Her  eye  fell  upon  her  hand,  still  clasping  the  paper 


The  House  of  Landell  451 

taken  from  the  desk.     An  intent  look  came  into  her 
face. 

"What  is  that!" 

Impetuously,  Grace  seized  upon  the  scrap  of  paper. 

Tom  had  once  said  of  her,  that,  if  Grace  Jenkins 
had  but  one  value  in  life,  it  was  to  force  issues  at  a 
time  when  others  would  be  ashamed  to  ask  questions. 
Now,  inquisitively,  she  opened  the  envelope  as  if  it 
were  her  own. 

"  It  is  a  letter  from  Dick  Brentford  to  his  uncle, 
Howard  Dunburn,  Trenton,  New  Hampshire,"  she  ex 
claimed.  "  Why,  this  is  the  room  Dr.  Brentford  al 
ways  has  when  he  comes  here !  " 

Not  answering  this  volley  of  words,  Agnes  turned  to 
the  manager. 

"  Will  you  telegraph  to  this  address,  that  the  recip 
ient  is  to  come  at  once  to  Rev.  Philip  Herman's  in  the 
village,  where  his  nephew  lies  critically  ill.  As  for 
the  events  of  this  night,  I  tell  you  I  have  just  seen 
Richard  Brentford's  wraith!  " 

In  a  frenzy  of  terror  Grace  screamed  and  clung  con 
vulsively  to  her  friend. 

"  I'm  terribly  frightened,"  she  sobbed.  "  Mr.  Jen 
kins  hasn't  come  in  yet.  We  thought  we  heard  him, 
but  it  was  a  mistake.  Let  us  go  down-stairs  with  you, 
Mr.  Winship.  I  am  afraid  to  stay  up  here.  Won't 
you  go  out  and  hunt  for  him?  I  am  afraid  he  is 
frozen.  He  told  me  he  was  going  to  the  barber's  for 
a  shave !  All  I  could  say  to  persuade  him  to  stay  home 
was  no  good.  I  knew  it  was  going  to  be  a  blizzard.— 
And  to  take  such  a  night — what  does  he  want  to  shave 
his  vandyke  for,  anyway !  " 

Talking  garrulously,  and  clinging  desperately  to 
Mrs.  Winship's  arm,  she  drew  Agnes  after  her  to  the 
living-room  of  the  caretaker,  starting  at  every  gust  of 
wind  and  listening  for  the  step  that  did  not  come. 


452  The  House  of  Landell 

Late  dawn  found  her  alternately  watching  for  him  and 
bemoaning  his  fate. 

As  best  she  could,  Agnes  ministered  to  her  frantic 
friend,  listening  with  earnest,  reassuring  sympathy  to 
the  terrified  moans  and  sobs. 

Morning  came  and,  with  it,  calm  from  out  the  tem 
pest. 

With  the  milk  train,  en  route  for  the  city,  came 
Richard  Brentford's  uncle  in  response  to  the  telegram 
of  the  night. 

Without  announcement,  Philip  and  the  newcomer 
entered  the  sick  chamber.  The  heavy  lids  of  the  man 
upon  the  bed  lifted  and  eyes  dull  first  with  despair  and 
then  with  hate  fell  upon  them. 

"Howard  Dunburn!  Come  into  the  open!  Thief! 
Coward !  Where  is  my  father's  money !  " 

At  the  moment  his  denunciations  cut  the  air,  the  tele 
phone  outside  the  door  rang  sharply,  and  a  voice  at  the 
further  end,  audible  to  every  one  in  the  room,  spoke — 

"  This  is  Beneby  House.  We  have  found  Richard 
Brentford  dead  on  the  fire-escape,  killed  by  a  live 
electric  wire." 

The  man  on  the  bed  heard  the  words.  Stunned  into 
silence,  his  vituperations  died  upon  his  lips.  A  far- 
sighted  look  dawned  in  Mrs.  Herman's  eyes  as  she 
heard  the  call. 

Mr.  Dunburn  and  Philip  joined  Dr.  Bascombe  and 
the  coroner,  and  together  went  to  the  hotel. 

The  motor  sped  under  crystal  arches,  for  the  trees 
were  encased  in  sleet,  and  every  twig  was  traced  in 
filmy  beauty  against  the  sky.  It  was  bitterly  cold. 

They  entered  the  room  Agnes  had  occupied.  Out 
side  the  broken  window  stood  the  linemen,  near  a  long- 
shaped  mound  of  ice  only  just  now  beginning  to  melt 
as  the  sun  peeped  round  the  corner  of  the  building  and 


The  House  of  Landell  453 

set  the  cold  brilliance  asparkle  with  prismatic  colors. 
Above  this  curious  mound,  out  of  which  a  face  pro 
truded,  a  broken  electric  wire  was  dangling.  The  end 
nearer  the  window  pointed  to  the  crystal  mass  like  a 
finger  of  fate  holding  down  the  proof  of  uncanny 
things. 

At  the  coroner's  word,  the  icy  pall  was  broken  and 
the  inert  form  lifted  from  the  narrow  platform  and 
borne  into  the  room.  Seemingly,  it  was  Dr.  Brentford, 
lifeless,  but  undisfigured  by  the  shaft. 

A  half-caught  revelation  struggled  in  Philip's  eyes. 
Mr.  Dunburn,  as  in  the  clutches  of  a  nightmare,  stood 
beside  him. 

Grace  had  been  left  alone,  sleeping,  in  Mrs.  Win- 
ship's  sitting-room.  After  a  while  she  roused,  and, 
still  drugged  with  slumber,  staggered  out  of  the  room 
and  up-stairs,  with  a  half -delirious,  half-dreaming  idea 
that  Jack  had  returned  and  was  awaiting  her. 

Along  the  hall  she  sped,  and  in  at  the  open  door — 
one  of  many  that  lined  the  walls,  and  which  she  had 
mistaken  as  one  leading  to  her  room. 

Stretched  upon  the  bed  she  saw  a  gruesome  thing, 
out  of  which  all  semblance  of  life  had  gone. 

For  an  instant,  she  halted ;  then,  crazed  into  unrea 
soning  activity,  she  seized  it  and  strove  to  stir  it  into 
action.  As  the  dead  weight  resisted  her  efforts,  an 
agonized  cry  of  Jack!  penetrated  the  long  halls  and 
died  quiveringly  upon  the  air  as  she  sank  into  uncon 
sciousness. 

Mr.  Dunburn's  face  was  tense  and  white.  Philip's 
still  expressed  a  vague  outreaching  for  an  illusive  truth. 

Tom  had  been  sent  for  and,  with  the  permission  of 
the  coroner,  entered  the  death  chamber. 

An  intense  look  of  mystification  clouded  his  eyes 
as  he  looked  at  the  corpse. 


454  The  House  of  Landell 

"  It  is  Jack  Jenkins!  "  he  said,  his  voice  hushed  be 
fore  the  tragedy  confronting  him. 

"  The  man  I  saw," — Agnes'  voice  was  equally 
hushed  but  thoroughly  assured,  "  was  Richard  Brent 
ford." 

"  Let  us  see  if  his  pockets  give  up  any  secrets,"  said 
the  coroner. 

In  a  moment  a  few  papers  lay  in  his  hands.  He  un 
folded  one  of  them. 

"  '  I,  Luella  Herschal,  being  of  sound  and  disposing 
mind,'  "  he  read, — "  And  here  is  another  one — a  copy 
— no,  not  a  copy — "  He  picked  up  some  slips  of  paper 
— "  Some  one  has  been  practising  reproducing  the  sig 
nature — is  it  possible  that  we  have  a  forgery  case  in 
our  hands?  " 

"  Let  me  look  at  the  papers,"  said  Tom.  "  Agnes, 
the  matters  of  your  Aunt  Luella's  will  and  the  one  eye 
in  the  two  wells  are  explained.  This  will,  leaving  the 
property  to  him,  is  a  forgery  by  his  own  hand!  The 
property  is  yours,  as  she  promised." 

"  The  man  I  saw  last  night  was  Richard  Brentford," 
insisted  Agnes. 

Mr.  Dunburn's  strong  jaw  quivered ;  then  he  spoke. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  recognize  in  this  man  Richard  Brent 
ford,  senior,  the  husband  of  my  sister  who  died  years 
ago,  and  the  father  of  the  Richard  Brentford  who  lies 
ill  at  your  house,  Mr.  Herman.  He  was  reported  killed 
in  a  wreck  on  the  S.  and  L.  railroad  years  ago.  I  am 
sure  I  have  made  no  mistake." 

While  he  was  speaking,  light  was  growing  in  Philip's 
mind  and  reflecting  in  his  eyes. 

"  I  see  in  him,  too,  the  manager  of  my  father's  estate, 
— the  man  who — upon  his  death — absconded  with 
large  funds  and  left  us  penniless." 

Light  also  was  growing  in  Agnes'  mind,  as  she 
added  her  testimony  to  the  chain  that  was  winding 


The  House  of  Landell  455 

about  the  man  whom  death  was  not  protecting  but  re 
vealing. 

"  When  I  spoke  to  him  yesterday,  in  a  way  I  some 
times  have  of  seeing,  as  already  consummated,  events 
'  that  cast  shadows  before,'  he  believed  himself  dis 
covered.  He  shaved  his  vandyke,  preparatory  to 
escape,  and  tried  to  reach  Grace  by  way  of  the  fire 
staircase,  to  evade  those  who  might  see  him  had  he 
entered  by  the  office  door.  Without  his  beard,  he  and 
his  son  look  exactly  alike.  The  arc-light  defeated  his 
purpose — and  he  is — here !  " 

She  ceased  speaking.    There  was  silence. 

"  I  know,"  said  Philip's  mother  as  they  entered  the 
Herman  house,  "  it  is  Richard  Brentford's  father  and 
your  father's  manager.  I  recognized  the  likeness  as 
the  son  lay  unconscious.  Other  incidents  have  veri 
fied  the  relationship." 

With  fierce  intensity,  and  wholly  shaken  out  of  the 
stuporous  lethargy  of  preceding  weeks,  Dick  Brent 
ford  had  lain  awaiting  the  return  of  his  uncle  from 
the  errand  on  which  he  had  been  called.  Hearing 
voices,  he  called  loudly, 

"  Come  up  here,  thief,  scoundrel,  and  give  me  my 
father's  money." 

Appealingly,  Mr.  Dunburn  looked  at  Dr.  Bascombe. 

"  I  have  kept  this  from  him  all  his  life !  What  shall 
I  do !  It  will  kill  him  to  know !  " 

"  It  will  craze  him  not  to  know !  He  is  inoculated 
with  hatred.  Tell  him  every  detail  and  see  if  it  will 
not  prove  the  antidote.  Compelling  faith  may  save 
his  reason.  Dick,"  he  turned  to  the  bed,  "  your  uncle 
is  going  to  talk  with  you.  I  ask  you  to  listen  quietly." 

Simply  the  uncle  told  of  the  day  when  Richard 
Brentford,  the  elder,  had  taken  advantage  of  his  re 
ported  death  to  escape  conviction  for  crime;  how  he 
had  left  mother  and  baby  boy  absolutely  penniless  and 


456  The  House  of  Landell 

unprovided  for;  how  he — the  uncle — had  assumed  the 
responsibility  and,  though  with  meagre  salary,  had 
lavished  love  and  luxury  upon  the  two  he  loved,  him 
self  giving  up  the  dream  and  love  of  a  lifetime  because 
he  could  not  support  a  wife  and  this  sister  and  nephew 
thrown  upon  his  mercies;  how  the  mother  had  died 
and  the  nephew  had  viewed  him  with  a  virulent  hatred 
he  would  not  attempt  to  explain  away  because  it  would 
necessitate  confession  to  the  son  of  the  father's  ill- 
doing.  How  now,  circumstance  had  proven  stronger 
than  his  love  and  not  only  the  son,  but  the  world  must 
know  the  dead  man  as  he  really  was. 

"  A  lifetime  of  venom  visited  on  such  a  man,"  gasped 
Brentford.  Tears  welled  up  where  the  white  heat  of 
passion  had  burned,  and  cooled  the  crazed  brain  that 
had  been  hate-sick  for  many  years. 

He  put  out  his  hand  like  a  little  child,  groping  for 
his  uncle's. 

"  Charity !  The  world  is  full  of  it,  but  because  I 
had  none  in  me,  I  could  not  recognize  it  anywhere. 
The  very  breath  I  draw,  I  owe  to  it.  The  blood  still 
flows  in  my  veins  because  of  it.  Let  me  die!  Bury 
me  with  my  father — a  worthy  pair  in  a  single  grave." 

"  Love  makes  men  to  live  and  not  to  die,  and  Dick, 
I  love  you." 

Alexander  Steny  had  come  in  for  his  daily  moment 
of  loving  and  heard  Mr.  Dunburn's  words.  His  violin, 
mended  by  his  own  exertions,  was  in  his  hand. 

"  Mr.  Dick  is  getting  well,  Mr.  Tom,"  he  whispered 
happily,  his  own  face  refined  to  the  texture  befitting  a 
living  soul.  "  I  know,  for  I've  sounded  love  about  him. 
The  violin-maker  keeps  saying  that  love  shapes  you 
into  music  that  you  sing  into  your  life,  and  music  holds 
you  together  in  God.  He  explains  it  to  me  by  sounding 
notes  and  gets  beautiful  shapes  of  flowers  and  things 
and  that  helps  me  to  understand  how  God  holds  my 


The  House  of  Landell 


457 


life  together  and  how  I  can  sound  the  right  notes  and 
make  a  song  of  what  I  do,  instead  of  a  jumble  of 
noises.  Mr.  Tom,"  he  looked  confidingly  into  his 
big  friend's  face  as  the  two  left  the  house  together  and 
he  trudged  along  beside  Tom  on  the  slippery  road, 
happily  hugging  his  violin,  "  I'd  never  have  known, 
without  the  awful  fright  of  thinking  I  had  killed  Dr. 
Brentford,  and  what  I've  learned  to  know,  through 
helping  to  love  him  back,  what  loving  means.  Why, 
Mr.  Tom,  I'd  have  been  split  to  pieces  if  it  hadn't  been 
for  you  and  Dr.  Wehr  and  the  rest,  loving  me  into 
holding  together  and  living." 

Tom  left  Hi-Timmy  at  the  turn  of  the  road  to  go 
back  to  the  hotel  where  Agnes  still  remained  with 
Grace.  She  had  refused  to  go  to  the  Landells'  and  had 
fallen  into  a  heavy  slumber. 

The  brother  and  sister  went  into  the  chamber  where 
the  body  lay. 

As  they  stood  there,  Agnes'  face  gave  strong  reply 
to  some  unseen  demand  upon  her. 

"No,  Jack  Jenkins,"  she  said  with  kindly  decision, 
"  You  must  cease  calling  upon  mine  or  any  other  or 
ganism  than  your  own,  for  the  perpetration  of  your 
actions.  Construct  and  use  your  own  embodiment  for 
what  you  will  to  do." 

Tom  watched  his  sister,  their  minds,  as  never  be 
fore,  coming  together  in  the  only  real  meeting  place, 
the  presence  of  the  Most  High.  Agnes  felt  peace  and 
knowledge;  but  she  did  not  speak.  She  looked  at  the 
keen  intellectual  face  of  her  brother.  It  was  trans 
figured  with  a  quality  never  before  apparent.  A  soft 
white  light  glowed  between  them. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  she  whispered  finally,  knowing  the 
answer  before  he  spoke. 

Tom  raised  his  head.  Spiritual  insight  lay  in  the 
manger  of  his  eyes. 


458  The  House  of  Landell 

"  The  heavens  are  opening  to  me."  The  deepening 
sense  of  his  perception  sounded  through  his  tones. 
"  In  Conscious  Reality,  I  am  seeing  the  unseen.  I 
find  pure  souls,  Alicia  and  the  others,  leading  him, 
'who  would  obsess  you,  away  from  you  to  his  own 
place,  there  to  learn  the  lesson  of  the  individual." 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

Events  pass;  but  the  quality  of  joy  is  in  you  and 
remains  with  you. 

ALL  this  beautiful  morning,  Agnes  had  been  busy 
with  her  manuscript,  formulating  for  her  heroine, 
Sophia,  the  revelation  that  was  coming  to  her — her 
soul's  conviction  of  the  fulfilling  of  the  law. 

The  next  afternoon,  with  a  sense  of  breadth  she 
never  before  had  experienced,  she  went  for  a  long 
walk.  In  her  was  no  quality  of  struggle.  Within  her 
sang  the  thought,  "  As  soon  as  striving  ceases,  the 
fruition  of  trust  begins." 

Meanwhile,  Mattee  Sue  was  in  excited  conclave  with 
Tom. 

"  This  is  all  tush  and  Biffy  Bimkins,"  she  was  say 
ing  in  her  prettily  emphatic  way,  "  I  saw  Agnes  go 
down  the  street  just  now,  as  if  she  were  Simon  Sty- 
lites." 

"  He  sat  on  a  post,  according  to  my  recollection. 
Agnes  was  walking.  Trace  the  resemblance  for  me,— 
that's  right,  say  W-oh-w-er-y,  or  whatever  it  is  you  say 
—it  is  never  exactly  the  same  twice.  The  girls  North 
fill  in  the  pauses  with  an  oh-er — all  the  dif,  in  softly 
insinuating,  fascinating  witchery,  between  the  first 
automobile  and  a  Nineteen  Eighteen  model." 

"  None  of  you  seem  to  have  the  slightest  idea  how 
to  tow  a  man  within  ten  leagues  of  her,  and  she  is  as 
stationary  as  the  rest  of  you.  Every  time  Mr.  Mevin 
says  he  is  coming  out  here,  you  take  it  for  granted  he 
wants  to  talk  about  your  abnormal  children  instead  of 

459 


460  The  House  of  Landell 

seeing  that  blessed  sister  of  yours.  You  always  say 
you  will  go  up  there!  If  he  says  he  can  come  here 
better,  you  say  you  will  be  running  through  New  York 
and  save  him  the  trouble.  I  never  saw  such  stupid 
self-centredness!  Don't  you  know  he  is  dying  to  get 
down  here  and  finds  it  difficult  after  so  long  a  time  to 
rush  here  fust  so — and  you  keep  choking  him  off !  " 

"  Jupiter !  "  said  Tom,  astounded.  "  Is  that  the  way 
you  play  us !  It  didn't  need  any  one  to  tow  me  to  you. 
When  I  got  good  and  ready,  I  just  went! " 

Mattee  Sue  pulled  his  necktie  into  place  with  a  fasci 
natingly  mock-serious  air. 

"  Is  that  possible !  Did  you  ever  hear  of  the  flounder 
and  how  it  is  born  with  eyes  on  each  side  of  its  head, 
w'ere  eyes  are  supposed  to  be,  and  how,  when  half 
grown,  the  eye  near  the  bottom  follows  the  light,  until, 
when  it  becomes  an  old  lady  or  gentleman, — one, — it 
has  two  eyes  on  the  top  w'ere  they  are  needed?  It  is 
to  be  hoped  your  second  eye  will  be  on  top  after  a 
while." 

"  What  do  you  mean,  impudence ! " 

"  You  came  w'en  you  were  good  and  ready,  did  you ! 
Never  thought,  I  suppose,  that  but  for  Agnes'  love 
for  you,  and  blessed  Tommy  Tompkins,  '  who  sat 
right  beside  me,'  we  might  still  have  been  discussing 
bones  and  colored  charts  on  paper!  Not  towed!  My 
precious  lamb !  Most  of  you  men  are  towed,  and  the 
smartest  tower  is  the  one  who  best  conceals  the  tow- 
line  and  makes  lammie  think  he  has  trotted  w'ere  he 
pleases.  I  may  mix  my  animals — sometimes  it  is  a 
mule  on  the  end  of  the  towline — but  I  did  not  wish  to 
sound  personal !  " 

"  Why  don't  you  sound  your  medial  H's  instead?  " 
retaliated  Tom,  much  amused  and  somewhat  enlight 
ened. 

"  To  feed  Yankee  curiosity,"  she  returned  spicily. 


The  House  of  Landell  461 

"  Can  one  ever  get  ahead  of  you  ?  "  sighed  Tom.  "  I 
don't  recall  that  the  rest  of  your  family  drop  them — 
oh,  yes,  your  father." 

"  It  gives  me  more  time  and  strength  to  push  on 
Agnes'  love  affairs.  It  takes  a  great  deal  of  strength 
to  blow  out  a  big  w'istle  of  breath  in  the  middle  of  a 
word.  I  couldn't  say  half  so  much  if  I  stopped  to 
smile  and  bow  at  every  H  I  met.  We  all  need  lots 
of  help,  don't  we,  sweetheart!  Think  w'at-ooh  what! 
• — wouldn't  have  become  of  us,  but  for  the  weird  ways 
of  Genung's  Rhetoric! " 

Tom  laughed,  hugged  his  rhetoric  queen,  and  went 
whistling  down  the  road.  In  a  short  time,  Mattee  Sue 
stole  from  the  room  and  slyly  dropped  a  letter  into  the 
mail  box  at  the  gate,  returning  with  the  expression  of 
a  victorious  cupid. 

Meanwhile,  Agnes  had  reached  the  pine- fringed  ave 
nue  leading  to  the  hotel.  She  swung  easily  up  the  steep 
ascent,  singing  in  her  heart. 

"  I  have  faith  that  in  the  beginning, 

When  life  was  given  us  all, 
It  was  planned  that  sooner  or  later, 

Our  hearts  should  answer  the  call, 
That  prescient  voice  of  the  spirit, 

That,   spite  of  sea  or  zone, 
Sometime,  across  the  silence, 

Gives  to  us,  each,  our  own." 

She  lingered  to  peel  a  bit  of  black  birch  from  the 
tree  that  had  stood  there  since  she  was  a  little  girl. 
Everything  filled  her  with  sweet  refreshment  as  she 
felt  as  never  before  that  things  were  being  done  for 
her  and  there  flowed  "  through  her  restlessness,  His 

rest." 

Clouds  were  piling  up,  black  and  ragged,  and  the  sun 
was  setting  the  edges  of  the  masses  aflame  with  light. 


462  The  House  of  Landell 

As  she  watched  the  scene,  there  flashed  from  one  of  the 
darkest  clouds  a  cross  of  lightning.  It  poised,  for  an 
instant,  then  disappeared. 

Her  face  was  radiant  as  she  absorbed  the  beauty. 

"  Never,  anywhere,  have  I  beheld  such  cloud  effects 
as  about  this  little  New  England  lake.  That  cross  of 
St.  Constantine's  is  a  rare  sight,  I  am  told — as  rare, 
perhaps,  as  is  the  translation  of  its  message  to  the 
human  heart.  Self-sacrifice,"  she  mused,  "  in  the  sense 
of  breaking  our  integrity  on  the  cross-breedings  of 
ignorance;  crucifixion,  in  the  sense  of  nailing  our 
selves  with  the  beliefs  of  sex-intelligence,  or  of  emotive 
feelings  of  low  order,  because  those  about  us  may  com 
prehend  no  other  kind;  the  nails  of  sentimentalism, 
race  and  ancestor  worship,  tradition — I  am  beginning 
to  see  that  self-sacrifice  is  not  this.  It  is  holy  doing.  I 
am  learning  to  see  through  the  medium  of  manifested 
things,  not  to  rest  in  it." 

Sweet-toned  and  perfectly-tuned  chimes  rang  out 
from  the  tower  of  a  church  near-by.  Her  heart  re 
sponded  to  the  call.  Walking  down  the  street,  she 
entered  the  building. 

The  cool,  deep  recesses  stirred  her  strangely.  The 
afternoon  sun  caused  shadows  of  the  waving  ivy  to 
move  in  delicate  tracery  upon  the  walls  and  floor.  The 
air  wafted  in  the  sweetness  of  flowers  and  the  singing 
of  birds.  Not  more  than  twenty  were  present.  She 
felt  alone,  and,  bowing  her  head, 

"  I  thank  Thee  for  thy  gift  of  Wisdom,  dear  God," 
she  whispered. 

She  raised  her  head. 

The  deep  tones  of  the  organ  were  wakened  by  a 
tender  hand.  The  strains  of  the  processional  sounded 
in  the  distant  precincts;  the  surpliced  choristers  swept 
up  the  aisle  in  swaying  waves  of  black  and  white. 

The  music  ceased.    The  service  proceeded.     Yet  no 


The  House  of  Landell  463 

message  other  than  of  abstract  good  had  come  to  her. 
Within  her  heart  she  registered  a  vow. 

"  Like  Jacob  I  will  wrestle  with  Thee,  Oh  God.  I 
will  not  let  Thee  go!  In  the  first  words  read  I  shall 
find  my  guidance!  " 

The  rector  stepped  into  the  desk.  Over  Agnes'  heart 
came  a  deep  calm.  Through  the  silence,  mingling  its 
music  with  the  songs  of  birds,  the  whispering  of  leaves, 
and  the  changing  shadows  of  the  waning  Sunday  af 
ternoon,  his  voice  came  to  her  attentive,  willing  heart, 
clear,  definite  and  strong, — 

"  For  marriage  is  honorable  unto  the  Lord." 

A  feeling  of  astounclment  swept  through  her — a 
question  as  to  how  to  reach  the  fulfilment  she  had 
declared. 

"  Go  on  in  steady  assurance,"  sounded  through  her 
being,  "  '  Make  this  forenoon  sublime,  this  afternoon 
a  psalm,  this  night  a  prayer.' ' 

The  sunset  grew  intensely  red.  The  atmosphere 
changed.  Evening  had  come  on.  The  peace  grew 
upon  her.  Contending  voices  ceased.  She  heard  no 
argument,  no  answer,  no  phenomenon,  no  symbol.  She 
knew  she  was  in  Light. 

"  — And  give  you  peace,  Amen," — closed  the  bene 
diction,  and  Agnes  passed  into  the  crimson-heralded 
night  with  the  new  moon  set  as  a  beacon  in  the  sky. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

"  /  saw  God  in  His  Glory  passing  near  me, 
And  bowed  my  head  in  worship." 

Ross  MEVIN  sat  in  his  study,  his  eyes  on  the  clouds, 
his  heart  on  Agnes.  Never  had  he  attempted  or  even 
desired  to  hasten  the  unfolding  of  her  love.  He  knew 
that  when  it  blossomed,  as  he  always  had  been  sure 
it  would,  it  would  be  a  flower  of  eternal  blooming. 
He  had  felt  it  opening  toward  the  sun  of  his  desire, 
and  to-day  was  internally  assured  there  was  no  longer 
need  for  waiting.  Constantly,  during  these  past  days, 
he  had  felt  the  support  of  her  inspiration  accompanying 
his  executive  toward  accomplishment.  Already  they 
had  become  one  in  ideals,  one  in  appreciation,  one  in 
faith,  and  one  in  understanding.  No  longer  should 
she  deny  him  the  right  of  wooing  or  herself  of  being 
wooed.  Love  is  an  abstract  quality  in  the  hurtling 
world ;  but  it  is  no  abstract  thing  between  one  man  and 
one  woman!  It  is  life!  It  lives  anew  in  every  pres 
sure  of  the  hand,  every  kiss  upon  rose-leaf  lips,  the 
touch  of  an  escaping  lock  of  hair!  He  and  she  had 
found  the  same  tongue.  They  could  commune  in  soul ! 

A  figure  formed  in  the  fleecy  clouds.  He  dreamed 
that  it  was  Agnes,  standing  waiting,  poised  against  the 
blue.  Another  bit  of  fleece  detached  from  the  mass  of 
cloud  and  joined  the  first.  In  his  happy  reverie  he 
saw  this  as  himself,  and  together  they  floated  away  in 
the  path  of  the  sun,  across  the  blue,  into  the  sweet 
spring  night,  with  the  new  moon  set  as  a  beacon  in  the 
sky. 

464 


The  House  of  Landell  465 

On  the  wings  of  twilight,  a  special  delivery  letter 
was  brought  to  his  door.  He  opened  it  in  the  violet 
gloaming  and  read, 

"My  dear  Mr.  Mevin,— I  am  becoming  secretary,  for  the  mo 
ment,  for  Mr.  Landell.  A  personal  conference  will  be  so  very 
much  more  satisfactory  than  letters,  and  as  plans  include  me, 
would  it  be  very  much  trouble  for  you  to  come  to  us  at  your 
convenience,  to-morrow  ? " 

MATTIK  SUK  LANDEI.L. 

An  instant,  and  his  hand  was  on  the  receiver  of  the 
telephone. 

(<  Will  you  send  a  telegram  to  this  address,"  he 
called, — "  I  shall  reach  Beneby  by  the  twelve  M.  train. 
Ross  Mevin." 

"  I  declare,  Agnes,"  said  Mattee  Sue,  late  the  next 
forenoon,  with  an  excited  little  tremor  in  her  voice, 
"  I  didn't  give  the  dressmaker  any  sample  for  my 
velvet.  Would  you  be  such  a  dear  as  to  drive  to  the 
station  with  it  ?  She  goes  to  town  on  the  twelve  train 
— the  one  that  comes  down  from  Worcester  at  that 
time.  I  would  thank  you  so  very,  very  much.  The 
trap  and  Jetty  are  right  there  at  the  door,  I  see,  and 
you  can  just  catch  the  train,  if  you  hurry." 

Agnes  acquiesced.  Patting  her  favorite  horse,  to 
which  she  clung  affectionately,  'despite  the  fascinations 
of  motor-cars,  she  drove  away,  while  Mattee  Sue 
squeezed  a  tear  from  her  eyes  and  turned  and  hugged 
Tom,  who,  just  then,  came  up  the  steps. 

"  Oh,  Tom,"  she  whispered,  cuddling  close  to  him, 
"  I  prayed  so  hard,  and  so  long,  that  I  nearly  let  her 
lose  the  train  after  all !  " 

"  What  are  you  talking  about,  you  wonderful  little 
wood-thrush  singing  sweetness  into  everybody's  life?  " 
and  Tom  hugged  her  three  times  in  response  to  her 
once. 


466  The  House  of  Landell 

"  I  never  meant  to  tell !  Wait,  just  a  very  few  min 
utes  and  you  will  see!" 

So  it  was  that  Agnes  met  Mevin  at  the  station.  He 
came  toward  her  and  took  his  seat  beside  her. 

Agnes  gave  a  sign  to  the  fleet  horse  that  sent  her 
trotting  down  the  road.  Plainly  pulsing  through  the 
rein,  Jetty  could  feel  the  joy  of  her  mistress'  heart,  as 
she  realized  that  the  love  she  had  persistently  ignored 
was  near  her,  breathing  its  holy  ecstasy  upon  her.  The 
assurance  of  the  love  she  had  repelled  came  to  her  now 
in  the  light  of  a  benison — an  untwining  of  meshes  she 
had  feared,  a  leading  out  of  mazes  in  which  she  had 
been  losing  her  way — out  into  the  open  of  the  liberty 
of  God. 

Every  turn  of  the  carriage  wheels  brought  to  her, 
as  an  undercurrent  of  accompaniment, 

"  That  prescient  voice  of  the  spirit, 

That,  spite  of  sea  or  zone, 
Sometime,  across  the  silence, 
Brings  to  us,  each,  our  own." 

The  speed  of  their  going  was  not  conducive  to 
speech,  and  neither  wished  to  interrupt,  by  words,  the 
singing  in  their  hearts. 

Agnes'  spirit  radiated  till  the  aura  of  her  joy  was 
as  tangible  as  that  of  a  rose  petal  freshly  unfolded 
from  the  heart  of  the  mother  rose.  Her  atmosphere 
was  that  belonging  only  to  those  who  recognize  in  their 
every  moment,  in  the  visible  sense  world,  the  invisible 
life  of  the  larger  real — whose  power  is  supremacy  of 
the  soul.  Her  eyes  sparkled.  The  glow  of  health, 
having  come,  daily,  more  permanently  and  actually 
into  her  cheeks,  flushed  her  clear  skin.  The  poise  of 
her  body  was  balanced  before  the  great  glad  truth  that 
the  liberty  of  God,  as  well  as  through  silence  and 


The  House  of  Landell  467 

solitude,  comes  through  human  loves  and  companion 
ships,  and,  through  the  inherent  right  of  individual 
choice  and  selection,  brings  to  each  his  own. 

Mevin,  too,  his  soul  with  hers,  saw  the  sparkle  of  the 
eye,  the  freshness  of  the  exquisite  skin,  the  touch  of 
the  virile  hand  upon  the  reins;  realized  the  growing 
health  and  balance  of  this  woman  beside  him;  recog 
nized  the  beauty  of  the  temple  as  he  recognized  the 
supremacy  of  the  soul  that  interpenetrated  it,  and  faced 
this  supreme  moment  of  his  life,  not  with  the  hysterical 
adoration  of  sense  feeling  the  world  so  often  knows  as 
all  there  is  of  love,  and  which,  a  while  ago,  would 
have  been  his  own  limited  conception.  At  this  moment 
of  his  initiation,  there  was  with  him  a  deep  rest,  se 
renity,  and  power.  It  was  as  if  the  desires  of  his 
senses,  far  from  being  repressed  or  killed,  had  unfolded 
into  something  so  infinitely  more  wonderful  that  he 
felt  as  if  he  had  entered  upon  a  world  of  potent  proba 
bilities  in  which  her  soul  was  winging  her  way  with 
his  in  the  accomplishment  of  something  ineffable  and 
never-ending. 

Agnes  did  not  drive  to  the  main  entrance  of  the 
house,  but  turned,  instead,  into  what  was  called  the 
lower  road — an  avenue  some  mile  and  a  half  in  length, 
reaching  the  house  through  the  park  drive  that  homed 
great  hemlocks  by  the  hundreds  with  here  and  there  a 
colony  of  beeches. 

Until  then,  there  had  been  no  sound  save  the  click, 
click,  of  Jetty's  feet  upon  the  roadway,  and  the  throb, 
throb,  of  the  spirit  of  life  in  all  about. 

As  she  turned  in  at  the  entrance,  the  steady  impact 
of  the  little  steel-shod  hoofs  changed  the  quality  of 
their  rhythmic  sound,  and  fell  hushed  upon  the  fir 
needles. 

The  great  woods  had  the  attitude  of  listening;  the 
world  was  full  of  the  stillness  that  pervades  when 


468  The  House  of  Landell 

nature  poises,  awaiting  the  coming  of  some  great  event. 

Then,  Agnes  released  her  touch  upon  the  rein  and 
looked  at  Mevin.  There  was  no  coyness,  no  flickering 
of  the  lash.  It  was  the  straight  look  where  soul  meets 
soul. 

"  Out  of  the  loneliness  and  waiting  I  have  come  into 
the  companionship  of  your  love,  Agnes,  my  own,"  he 
whispered,  and  clasped  her  in  his  arms. 

THE  END 


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